


Outlanders

by hbomba, lonejaguar



Series: The Dark Queen Saga [2]
Category: Lost Girl
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-02
Updated: 2015-01-07
Packaged: 2018-02-27 21:19:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 34,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2707142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hbomba/pseuds/hbomba, https://archiveofourown.org/users/lonejaguar/pseuds/lonejaguar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Dark Queen and Lauren are forced from the kingdom, they set out for the Outlands where trouble swiftly finds them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Sequel to In Our Bedroom After The War. Please read that first or this will not make any sense.

__

out·land·er  
noun  
a foreigner; a stranger.  
__

“For the enemy to be recognized and feared, he has to be in your home or on your doorstep.” --Umberto Eco  
__

The castle was at its calmest in the middle of the night. When darkness fell, the chorus of crickets and frogs were the backdrop to the hollow sound of his footsteps, the flicker from torch flames the only signs of warmth against the cold grey stone. It was a stark contrast to the main building, a modern addition to the ancient castle’s towers. Stretching another ten stories above the existing stone structure, the castle’s main tower was a testament to how far the Fae had come without forgetting their past.

At the tower’s peak, the lush and casual penthouse of the Fae Queen overlooked the castle grounds to the city’s gates. It was a glance into her private life, beyond her benevolent but stern reign. The living area was dark and quiet, a plate with a single cookie and a heavy blanket left abandoned on the couch. He moved carefully past a narrow table with a few photos and a vase of flowers and approached the bedroom door. He paused with his hand on the door handle, drawing in a deep breath before pushing into the room. He hadn’t even taken one step when her dagger was at his throat.

“Do you mean to kill me, Dyson?” she said into his ear, soft and even.

Dyson breathed heavily, but kept still. “No, my Queen but we must leave the city. It is not safe,” he whispered.

Bo looked over at Lauren who held her knees to her chest beneath a sheet. Bo shook her head. “Dyson, I don’t know…” She said and finished the rest of the thought in her head: _if I can trust you._

“We don’t have time for arguments,” he urged. We must go now.” 

“I will not be chased from my kingdom,” she said defiantly. “This is my home.”

He paced impatiently. “My Queen, there has been a threat upon your lives. Please get dressed and pack light, we must travel on horseback.”

A soft click of the doorknob and he was gone. Bo stood on the other side of the bed, in the dark, speechless.

“It’ll be okay.” Lauren swung her legs over the side of the bed and gathered the sheet and her wits about her. Her footsteps were whispers on the rug beneath her feet. “I’ve got your back. You and me.” She pressed her hand against Bo’s cheek and her mind raced. _What should she do? Could she trust Dyson or are they marching willingly into a trap of his own making? What if he means to kill Lauren? Would they ever see her empire again? Were these the last few moments of peace before her world was to be plunged into chaos once again?_ “Hey,” Lauren said, bringing Bo back to herself. 

Bo’s arms reeled Lauren into her body and she hugged her tightly. “Never a dull moment,” she sighed into Lauren‘s hair.

They packed quickly, taking only the essentials and irreplaceable items. Lauren flattened the items in a trunk and closed the lid, locking it firmly before dressing hurriedly. It wouldn’t be long before Kenzi joined them in the stables where Dyson passed over the Queen’s carriage for the service cart and fitted the other two horses with saddles, bits and bridles. Lauren sat beside Bo who took the reins as Dyson and Kenzi flanked the cart on horseback. It jerked forward with a flick of Bo’s wrists and a click of her tongue, jumping forward into the dark. Bo drove the cart hard for miles, deep into the surrounding forests and out the other side until it was threatening to splinter into pieces. Then she pushed it a little harder. They galloped into the pitch dark of night with no real direction or end point in sight. Lauren wrapped herself around Bo’s arm and lay her head against Bo’s shoulder, the rhythm of the horse hooves lulling her to sleep as they made their grand getaway.

The air was different in the Outlands, call it barometric pressure or humidity or just plain insanity, Lauren knew the difference when they crossed through city limits. She inhaled the stale and dusty air and coughed herself awake. The Outlands were a barren wasteland that had once been alive with man-made structures and highways that still stretched across the country. Now they were being taken back by nature, ferns and tree roots embracing the rubble of civilization. And in this lawless habitat, outlaws met outcasts and the results were mixed. A murderous crew or two were sure to haunt any given area but the outcasts were the ones they had to watch out for. They were odd or ugly, smart or funny, weird or wily, and that unpredictability made them more dangerous.

First light was just starting to show in the sky and Dyson galloped alongside their makeshift carriage to lead them into a town, dark and seedy. It was colder now, Lauren dug around in the back of the service carriage and found a blanket which she wrapped Bo in before covering herself with the rest. Huddled together against the wind and dust, Dyson led their sad little caravan quietly through town to an abandoned parking garage. He held a hand up to the women, dismounting from his horse. He swung the shotgun hanging from his back to the front, cocking it as he walked into the structure. He returned a few moments later. “All clear,” he said.

It was an effective bunker. There was camouflage enough for the horses and carriage and room enough on the inside for the four of them and then some. Dyson made a small fire from garbage and discarded wood from the service cart, Kenzi critiquing him on his survival skills, and Bo, at her most un-Queenly, sat silently beside Lauren who worried her fingernails. Dyson settled across from them and Bo’s eyes searched his face, looking for any sign of betrayal in his expression. “We’ve come far enough, General. You owe me an explanation.”

He nodded, staring into the fire. “We received information that there was an immanent threat that you and Doctor Lewis would be targeted.”

“How is that different from any other day since we signed the treaty?” Bo asked, starting to feel the fire’s warmth.

“This message implied that it could be your own staff who mean to assassinate you.” His eyes shifted from Bo to Lauren and back again. “As for why we left the way we did, I could not risk letting anyone know where we are going.”

“Where are we going?” Lauren asked.

“There’s a safe house a few cities over. We can lay low until I flush the traitors out.”

“Until we flush the traitors out,” Kenzi interjected, clearing her throat. She sat down next to Dyson.

He looked past his shoulder to Kenzi who brushed the dirt from her pants. “We’ll hide here until darkness falls again and then continue on.”

“How do you know your safe house hasn’t been compromised as well?” Lauren asked.

“I sent your Scout to secure the location.” He nodded at Kenzi.

“It’s secure,” Kenzi assured her leader.

There was an unsettled silence between the four of them. Dyson watched Bo carefully, her feet tapping, her fingers squeezing her knees. “I need some air,” Bo said suddenly, getting to her feet and heading for the stairs to the roof of the garage. 

Dyson looked after her as Lauren clambered to her feet. “I’ll go.” She climbed the few flights of stairs and pushed gently at the door to the roof. The hinge barely hung on to the wall as she stepped outside. She found Bo on the top level staring into the fading twilight, its twinkling stars fading into encroaching daylight, her arms hugging her sides. “Hey,” Lauren said to the Queen without a court. 

“I never imagined it would be this difficult,” Bo admitted. 

“Hate is easily cultivated but harder to dispel.”

“We just ran away. I let him convince me that my safety is more important than that of my kingdom’s.”

“It is, my Queen,” Lauren whispered as the sun began to break in the East.

Bo sighed. “Then why do I feel as though I’ve let them all down?”

Lauren wrapped her arms around Bo‘s waist. “Because you are a good Queen.”

Bo smiled sadly. “I fear that has never been the case.”

Lauren released her. “Regret will not advance our cause, Bo.”

“Is there a hope for peace with the odds stacked against us?”

“I’ve survived this long believing as much.” Lauren straightened, head held high. “There is always hope.”  
__

Lauren was in her own element. Unlike Bo, she had not been privy to the royal advantages when the war started. She was used to staying on the move, always in the shadows, working stealthily. She was used to eating road kill and drinking flat beer and distilled body fluids. She was used to staying alive.

She hugged her knees, unable to sleep. Bo’s head rested on her shoulder as she snoozed quietly. The waiting game was her least favorite game to play but the cover of darkness was the only way for the highly recognizable leader of the Fae to travel. It wasn’t as important for Lauren because she still suffered from anonymity in the eyes of many. She was a woman and she had constructed such an effective ruse that most could not separate it from the truth.

Kenzi approached from the stairwell. She sat across from Lauren, poking the fire with a small stick. “Dyson’s gathering supplies and I’ve been through town. Nothing really special about it. The town pervert tried his luck with me so I broke his arm.” 

Lauren looked up at Kenzi. “I thought we were trying to avoid making waves?”

She shrugged. “It seemed like the thing to do at the time.”

“Try not to make it a habit,” Lauren said.

“If he had done to you what he did to me you would have broken his nose,” Kenzi said.

Lauren nodded into the fire. “That may be, but we have to be smarter than our instincts, at least until this situation settles down.”

Kenzi sighed and leaned back on her hands. “With all due respect, instinct seems to have been leading the charge for awhile now.” She looked at the women, Bo still fast asleep, and crossed her arms.

Lauren nodded. “I see.” She lowered her voice. “You should have told me this is how you felt sooner. I would have relieved you from your post.”

The younger woman looked at the dirt in front of her. “You know that’s not what I want.”

Lauren‘s voice was a harsh whisper. “Then why this sudden attack?”

“You don’t always make the best decisions where the Queen is concerned,” Kenzi whispered back.

Lauren tsked and rolled her eyes. “Says who? You? That’s awfully bold of you to say.”

Kenzi stared at Lauren, her voice no longer a whisper. “I have followed you to hell and back,” she said quietly. “Don’t misunderstand my intentions now.”

“And sometimes you have led the way.” She gestured to the parking structure surrounding them. “How is it you think our safety is improved in the Outlands versus staying in the confines of the castle walls?”

“If your own people mean to kill you…” Kenzi trailed off.

“Then we never should have trusted you or Dyson in the first place.”

“Turning on your own will do nothing to help our cause, Doctor.” Dyson’s voice came from the direction of the stairs as he emerged from the doorway.

Kenzi breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of someone she now called ‘friend’. “I meant no ill will, Lauren.”

“Then worry less about your opinions of my life and more about protecting it. That’s what I need right now.” 

The last words came out sharp, shrill, even and Bo stirred. When she lifted her head, Lauren stood quickly and retreated to the roof again. She watched clouds form above her head as they moved across the grey sky. Tonight, it would rain. Lauren knew the signs and she also knew it was not good weather to travel in, especially with a cart or carriage. One muddy patch and the cart could get stuck, leaving them vulnerable to passing bandits. That meant another day of sitting still, biding their time until they could get to safety and that made Lauren uneasy. She pushed off the concrete wall and marched back downstairs. “It looks like rain.” She interrupted the other’s conversation.

“Are you certain?” Dyson said, understanding its implications.

“We should wait for another night,” Lauren said confidently. “We can’t be too careful at this stage.”

“We’re sitting ducks here,” Kenzi argued.

“And we’ll be sitting ducks out there if we get stuck.” She looked to Dyson. “What do you think, General?

Dyson looked to Kenzi and back to Lauren. “I think we should press on,” he said. “We can make it by daybreak if we leave when the moon rises.”

Lauren sighed. “One sink hole and we are exposed to every crazy Outlander in our vicinity.” Lauren looked between Kenzi and Dyson as if waiting for the conclusion to dawn on them. She sighed again when it didn‘t, her arms dropping to her sides.

The Queen watched the exchange with interest, taking in both points of view but ultimately when the choice was hers, she let her own impatience guide her decision. “We shall travel when night falls.”  
__

Lauren seethed as the convoy rolled out of town and into the wide open spaces of the Outlands. She looked into the sky; clouds lit up by a concealed moon. She knew in her bones that this was a bad idea and she again found herself doubting the counsel of Dyson and her very own Kenzi. Bo was not oblivious either, she had made the decision to take their lives into their own hands, but still she smiled her most disarming smile when Lauren looked at her. And Lauren fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

Of course, the rain started just as they set out and the conditions grew worse the farther into the Outlands they ventured. Lauren tensed at the foregone conclusion. They would get stuck, it was just a matter of where and when. And at the bottom of a steep incline where the mud collected from the runoff, she had her answer. The cart would not budge. Dyson had run out of ideas trying to achieve traction and when he went to unhitch the cart and abandon their belongings, Lauren jumped out of the cart to confront him.

Her feet sunk into the mud. “What are you doing?” she called to him, trudging back to the cart.

“It’s too dangerous, we must leave it.” His hands worked to unfit the wooden service cart loaded with their belongings.

“You will not leave anything,” she said insistently. Water beaded on her face, her hair wet and flattened against her head.

“They are just things,” Dyson said. “Surely your lives are worth more than a couple of suitcases and a trunk.”

“You’re not leaving anything,” she repeated.

“What is your problem?” Dyson growled.

“My problem is you brought us out here and I’m not leaving all of my possessions for the vultures to pick through. No.” She shook her head as Bo appeared from the driver‘s side. “They’re coming with me.”

Dyson glanced at Bo. “There’s no way we’re getting this cart unstuck right now.” Dyson raised his voice as the rain became louder, falling harder as they argued.

Bo’s hand wrapped around Lauren’s arm. “It’ll be okay,” she said. “Dyson will come back in the morning and get our things, right?”

He sighed. “Yes, my Queen.”

Lauren pulled away and walked to the horses. Irritated, she stroked the horse’s neck before climbing into the saddle. She looked at Kenzi who watched the scene silently from the back of her own horse. It was a wordless exchange that forced Kenzi to look away from the fire in her eyes.

When Bo joined her, mounting the other horse, Lauren began to doubt everything. She was in the middle of the Outlands with a man who had always resented her, a scout pledged to always be on her side but had shown herself as someone who begrudged her every decision and Bo. Bo, who she loved desperately but who had also disregarded her counsel. It was untenable, the situation she found herself in. And as Dyson unhitched their horses, Lauren dug in her heels and whipped the reins, taking off into the night. She rode for anger, for love, for all the questions in her heart. She rode to get some distance from the stifling misery she had begun to feel.

She didn’t get far before Bo, a much better rider, caught up with her. But Lauren didn’t let up, the rain pelting her face, soaking her clothes. Bo rode up next to her and snatched the reins away. The horses slipped on the mud and skidded to a stop. “What is going on with you?” Bo shouted over the cacophony of rain and wind.

“We shouldn’t have come out here.” She wiped the rain from her face only to have it reform a few moments later.

“I’m sorry I didn’t take your advice but--”

Lauren‘s horse stepped closer to the other when the flash of lightning lit up the horizon. “We shouldn’t have left the castle.”

“We can’t go back now.” She smoothed the wet hair from Lauren’s face.

Lauren shook her off, her eyes looking off toward Dyson and Kenzi. “I can’t.”

She pulled her hand away. “You can’t what?” 

“I can’t lose what’s in that trunk.”

“That’s what this is about?” Bo scoffed, looking over her shoulder at Kenzi and Dyson who stayed at the fringe of the bluff they found themselves on. “Your belongings?”

“My whole life is in that trunk,” Lauren said, her eyes piercing, hoping it would be all she needed to convince the Queen.

“We’ll get it back. I promise.” Bo nodded her reassurance. “Tomorrow. Now, let’s get out of the rain before you catch your death.” She nodded at Dyson and Kenzi who advanced on them.

“Everything okay?” Dyson asked as he tugged on his reins and stopped beside the women.

“Fine.” Lauren avoided eye contact with him, looking instead at Bo, who reached out for her once again. She leaned across the gap and kissed her rain soaked lips. Dyson looked away, still unable to watch the Queen’s affections. Kenzi cleared her throat and Bo withdrew.

“Lead the way, General,” she directed.

He snapped the reins and his horse galloped ahead, Kenzi following close behind. Bo returned the reins to Lauren and soon they were making up the distance. The rain was unrelenting and had slowly cooled as the night dragged on. Lauren began to shiver. Soaked through and riding hard, her only goal now was to get to that safe house.

They rode for hours, the rain letting up intermittently, for which she was grateful. Still, the wind had chilled her to the bone. This time Dyson led them into a dense outcropping of trees, along a stream and up a steep incline to a cabin. Again, Dyson dismounted and swept through the cabin with his shotgun. Kenzi checking the perimeter while Bo and Lauren waited with the horses. When he waved them in, they tied up the horses in the modest stable beside the cabin and went inside. Kenzi was lighting candles as Dyson stacked wood in the small fireplace at the center of the room. 

There were two bedrooms, the larger of the two had a full-sized bed, the smaller, just a twin. When Lauren had taken the tour she sat on the sofa in front of the fire and tried to warm her weary bones. Bo unbuttoned her cloak and hung it by the door. She spoke in hushed tones to Dyson who scratched his beard thoughtfully. 

Kenzi dropped onto the couch beside Lauren. “You wanna talk about it?”

Lauren rolled her eyes. “Do I look like I want to talk about it?” 

“That’s usually when you need to talk the most.”

Lauren paused and looked at Kenzi, considering whether she wanted to continue. “Okay, you wanna talk?” She asked, peeling the buttoned shirt from her body. “Thanks for having my back today. I mean, really bang up job.”

“Bittercakes,” she said with a smirk. “Just because I don’t agree with you all the time--”

“Kenzi, I trust you more than anyone and yet more and more I am beginning to see that you don’t trust me as I trust you.”

Kenzi straightened. “That’s not fair. I followed you for seven years.”

“And what about now?”

Kenzi looked around as if searching for an answer. “What do you want me to say? I’m at the bottom of the totem pole. I’m damned if I do, damned if I don’t whenever I open my mouth.”

“And where am I on this totem pole of yours or do I even need to ask?”

Kenzi’s eyes grew cold, her face hardened. “You knew this would happen.”

Lauren nodded. “Right. It’s no wonder why half the Resistance decline my leadership.”

“Lauren…”

“It’s fine.” She shook her head. “I just thought this would solve our problems, you know? I really thought we would be better off than we were before.”

“We are!” She reassured. “You’re happy, I mean, really happy and we are safe and well-fed.”

“Then why are we here? And what about all of the other Humans still slogging it out because they think I am a plant, put in place to confuse and draw them out? What about them, Kenzi?”

She sighed. “It’s late. Perhaps we should take this up in the morning.” She patted Lauren on the knee. “Get some rest.” Kenzi stood and walked into the small bedroom, closing the door behind her.

When Bo came to sit beside her, Lauren felt hostility bubbling up in her chest. She was so angry with Kenzi, with Dyson, and yes, with Bo for taking them out in the god forsakened rainstorm, for losing that trunk, for making her a figurehead with little power to achieve the things she swore she would when the war ended. But she loved Bo in spite of herself, she even loved Kenzi in a little sister sort of way and when she thought about it, that’s why it stung so much. She watched as Bo blew on her hands and held them out to the fire to warm them. When she looked back at Lauren, a smile softened her features and the sting faded. 

“I’ll be tending to the horses,” Dyson said before leaving the cabin for the stables.

Bo waited for the door to close before she turned back to Lauren. “Now that we’re alone, you want to tell me what’s really going on?” 

Lauren looked at her lap. “Bo…”

“This isn’t about some clothes and keepsakes, is it?” The Queen moved to the couch, sitting next to Lauren carefully. 

“No,” she admitted. “It isn’t.”

“Then, what?”

“Nevermind that,” Lauren said, capturing Bo‘s hands with her own. “I’ve had enough talking for one evening.”

Bo looked at her skeptically. “Are you sure? You seem preoccupied.”

“It’s been a tough couple of days as I’m sure you can understand.”

Bo pulled at the damp cotton camisole that clung to Lauren‘s skin. “We need to get you out of those wet clothes and get some rest. You’ve burnt the candle at both ends, my love and it shows.”

Lauren chuckled ironically. “Such a way with words.” She kissed Bo’s hands and released them in her lap.

“You’re freezing,” she said, flattening her hands on Lauren’s thighs and rubbing them.

Lauren reached out for her. “Take me to bed, my Queen.”

Bo stood, pulling Lauren to her feet and leading her into the bedroom. She watched Lauren as she undressed, stripping away her own top and pants before gathering the garments and walking back into the living area. As Lauren crawled beneath the sheets, shivering, Bo laid their clothes out by the fire before returning. When she crawled into bed beside Lauren, her body was warm and inviting. She moved closer, tangling her legs between Bo’s and curling into her. In a few minutes her body temperature had normalized and sleep beckoned. Her head rested on Bo’s chest, her heartbeat ringing in her ears, it’s even rhythm drawing her in and soon sweet slumber was hers.  
__


	2. Chapter 2

__

Scratch a lover, and find a foe. --Dorothy Parker  
__

She heard the birds in the trees outside the cabin as she roused, the sunlight littering the bedroom floor. Lauren stretched and breathed deep, the cool air filling her lungs, and reached across the bed to find empty sheets. How long had she slept? Lauren sat up and ran a hand through her hair. She noticed her clothes were dry and warm, folded at the foot of the bed and she checked her watch, the one possession she still had. “Shit,” she whispered. Lauren dressed quickly, anxious to get to her trunk. As she approached the door she could hear Bo, her tone angry, her sentences short. She opened the door to find Bo and Dyson in the midst of a heated conversation.

“I promised Lauren,” Bo said, turning to find her standing in the bedroom’s doorway. Kenzi milled about by the fireplace and looked at her nervously. _This can’t be good._

“What’s going on?” Lauren asked.

Bo held out her hands as if in surrender. “Try to remain calm,” she said. “Our things were taken.”

“Taken?” She asked incredulously. _Breathe._ “Taken.” She braced herself on the door jamb. “You said everything would be all right. You _promised mehave_ to find that trunk. There is no other option.”

Dyson eyed her suspiciously. “What is in this trunk exactly?”

“Just…” Lauren stopped herself and looked at the floor. She shook her head avoiding eye contact and leaned her shoulder into the jamb. “It’s my research, okay?” She rubbed her face. “The blueprints for the Fae neutralizing serum.”

“What?” Dyson whispered.

“Jesus Christ,” Bo said angrily, turning away from her in frustration. Her eyes were ablaze when she turned back. “You held onto that? After the treaty, after us?”

Lauren ran her hand through her hair. “It’s not like that, Bo.” She took a few steps closer, but stopped short when Bo’s arms crossed over her chest.

“Okay,” Bo said. “Tell me what it’s like, then.”

“I was just trying to keep them safe. Keep them from falling into the wrong hands.”

“I bet you feel pretty silly now.” She turned to Dyson. “Find it.”

Dyson stood at attention. “If the Resistance finds it first, our kind is doomed,” he said.

Bo pushed him toward the door. “Go.”

“But your safety, my Queen.” He resisted.

“We’ll be fine. Kenzi’s here. Now, go.” She pushed him out the door and shut it behind him before turning back to Lauren. “I trusted you.” Bo seethed with such rage, Lauren noticed Kenzi back up a step. “I begged my General to find that trunk because I thought it was important to you. I didn’t know you only wanted it to preserve your precious research.”

“Bo, it’s my life’s work,” Lauren reasoned. “I only wanted to keep it safe.”

“For what?” Bo laughed. “For when you grow tired of me and the rest of the Fae that have protected you and taken on your burden since you’ve joined us?”

“Bo, that‘s not fair,” she pleaded. “Let me explain.”

She shook her head. “I’ve heard enough. I need some space.” She turned and walked into the bedroom, slamming the door shut. The cabin shook, dust falling from the planks on the ceiling. Lauren covered her face and groaned.

“That didn’t go very well.”

When she lowered her hands she found Kenzi staring back at her. “Ya think?” Lauren dropped onto the couch and swallowed hard. She looked up at Kenzi. “I was going to tell her. I was.” She shook her head.

Kenzi sat down next to Lauren. “And how did you think that would go?”

“I don’t know.” Lauren sighed pulling at a snagged thread on the sofa.

“What you need now is damage control,” Kenzi suggested. “Maybe you should try to talk to her.”

Lauren didn‘t expect the advice from her scout, least of all in favor of her relationship with Bo. She smiled. “I appreciate the sentiment, really I do, but I think she needs some time.”

“You think she’ll come around?” She asked naively. 

Lauren laughed contemptuously. “Not likely. And Dyson might just kill me as I sleep.”

Kenzi puffed up on the couch. “Not as long as I’m around,” she said.

The declaration shouldn‘t have been a surprise to Lauren, but it was. “Really?” _Careful, Lauren, your vulnerability is showing._

Kenzi smiled and rubbed Lauren‘s back. “Doc, whatever doubts I may have, I will always have your back.”

Lauren nodded. “So what are we gonna do?”

“We wait.” Kenzi leaned her elbows on her knees and stared into the fireplace. “Dyson will find that dirty old trunk one way or another and when he does, you will have to make a choice.”

“My life’s work or my life as I know it,” Lauren said quietly.

Kenzi patted Lauren‘s knee and got to her feet. “Good luck with that.”  
__

Two days had passed since Lauren’s revelation and Dyson had not yet returned. Lauren had taken the smaller bedroom at Kenzi’s insistence and she took the couch to better look after their safety. Bo was freezing her out and she didn’t know how much longer she could take it. She would come out of her room to eat and then disappear back into the bedroom. Today, however, was Bo’s turn to look after the horses. Each woman had taken a shift with the horses to get some fresh air and a change of scenery and despite the fact that Bo was Queen, she was eager to look after her prized mare and trio of steeds. 

Bo had left the cabin fifteen minutes prior and Lauren paced the interior of the cabin, tired of her cage. Kenzi watched Lauren’s abnormal behavior with interest before pushing her toward the door. “Talk to her,” she said, turning the knob. “I can’t stand it anymore.”

The door creaked as it opened and Lauren stepped outside, inhaling the crisp, fresh air. She walked around the side of the cabin and into the back where the stable stood. Bo was brushing the beautiful mare that Lauren had first met all those months ago. The expression on the Queen’s face was sublime and she was almost reluctant to disturb her.

“Bo,” she started. “You don’t have to say anything, but I need you to listen to what I have to say.” Bo’s hand stilled and her arm dropped to her side. “I’m sorry I kept my research from you. And as bad as it might look, I was only trying to keep it from falling into the wrong hands.” She sighed. “You have to believe that I love my life with you and I would never do anything to hurt you.”

Bo looked at the ground and kicked the hay with her toe absentmindedly. “Why didn’t you destroy it?”

“I don’t know. I just thought…” Lauren sighed. “I don’t know what I thought.” She shrugged. “I just can’t spend another minute with you angry at me.”

Bo looked up, her eyes searching Lauren’s. Dropping the mare’s brush, she stepped towards her with a whoosh of air. Lauren stumbled backwards as Bo’s hands cupped her face, their lips crushed together. It was a desperate kiss. One that tugged at the pit of her stomach and dispelled the anger that Bo had felt. When they parted Lauren sucked in a breath. The fire was back in Bo’s eyes and Lauren had never been so happy to see that blue flash as she was then. She pushed back, crashing into the stable wall as Bo’s hands found her hair and kissed her again. Lauren was just getting used to the unbearable tempo set by Bo when she pulled away. “Listen,” Bo said quietly.

Lauren didn’t hear anything at first but after a moment or two she heard the unmistakable thudding of hooves galloping towards them. “Dyson,” they said in unison. They exchanged a look and tabled their reunion until another time, turning toward the trail leading up to the cabin. It wasn’t long before the General appeared on the incline; he was alone and empty handed. Lauren’s heart sank.

Dyson dismounted his horse and stood before them. “Did you find the trunk?” Bo asked almost immediately, stepping out of the stable.

“Yes, my Queen.”

“Where is it then?” Lauren pushed.

Dyson looked at her seriously. “I’m afraid it is unreachable.”

Lauren was about to open her mouth when the Queen stepped in. “That’s not acceptable,” Bo said. “We must not let it fall into the wrong hands.”

“I’m afraid that has already happened,” he said grimly.

“Why?“ Bo asked, afraid of the answer. “Who has it?”

“Evony,” Dyson said and Bo’s face fell. 

“What?” Lauren looked from Bo to Dyson. “Who’s Evony?” Lauren asked.

It was as if they were deciding who should speak. As if maybe the story would sound different coming from one over the other. “Before Vex,” Bo started. “Evony was my advisor.” She looked at Dyson. “But she too betrayed me and I banished her to the Outlands years ago.”

Lauren patted the horse next to her. “I’m just guessing but she’s not going to cooperate, is she?”

“We’ll be lucky to escape with our lives,” Bo said.

“You’re not going within ten miles of that place,” Dyson blurted, his horse shuffling its feet.

“I understand you are only trying to keep us safe, Dyson, but we must return.” Bo stepped closer to the horse, taking its bridle in her hand. “Evony cannot get her hands on that research,” she said, soothing the animal.

Dyson looked at Bo incredulously. “You would risk your life for this Human who would destroy us?” He gestured to Lauren.

Bo held a hand up to stop him. “Speak not of things you do not understand,” she warned.

Lauren shifted uncomfortably. “It’s okay.” She held a hand up and looked at Dyson. “What exactly is it about me that you object so strongly to?”

Dyson knocked the dirt off his boot. “You’re a liar,” he told her. “You’ve been lying since I first brought you to the castle.”

“I was a prisoner of war,” Lauren defended. “Wouldn’t you stretch the truth if it meant living another day?” 

“Justify it however you like, you and I both know you were never honest with the Queen.”

“You’re wrong about that,” she challenged, taking a step toward him. “I love Bo.”

Dyson growled took a step toward her as well. “You may be able to fool her, but you don’t fool me.”

Bo stepped between them. “Hey!” she said. “Stand down.” Her finger jabbed him in the chest. “Apologize to Lauren.”

Dyson clenched his jaw and stared at the pair. “I stand by what I said,” he said before turning and walking his horse into the stables.

“I’m sorry,” Bo said, watching him go. His and the horse’s footprints stuck in the mud as they walked off. It hadn’t rained since the deluge the night before, but the ground was soggy.

Lauren shook her head and started back inside. “It’s not important.”

Bo put a hand on Lauren’s arm. “Sure it is. He means well, I have to believe that or I’d be crazy by now.”

“With all due respect,” Lauren turned to Bo. “He only has eyes for you. Protecting me is the unpleasant baggage that he has to bear to be close to you.”

Bo smirked. “You are very perceptive.” 

“It doesn’t take much common sense to recognize what makes him tick,” Lauren said. “I can’t really blame him. If you were my one that got away, I’d be despondent, too.”

She smiled. “Did you mean what you said earlier?” Bo asked.

Lauren paused, regarding Bo seriously. “Why do you ask? Because of what Dyson said?”

“He is my last counsel, I have to take what he says seriously.”

“Huh,” she laughed ironically. “I was under the impression we were in this together.” She pulled away from Bo. “But I see now that the Humans were never who you wanted peace for.”

“Lauren…” She sighed as Lauren walked back into the cabin and left her standing alone in the mud. 

When the door finally opened and Lauren stepped inside, Kenzi looked up expectantly. “How’d it go?”

Lauren stomped the mud onto a mat and kicked off her boots. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she said retreating to the small bedroom and slamming the door.

The front door opened again, this time with trepidation. Bo poked her head in and scanned the room before entering. She lined her muddy boots beside Lauren’s and sat on the sofa, staring into the fire. She sighed.

Kenzi wrung her hands and took a few careful steps forward. “I know you’re probably not looking for advice, especially from a lowly Human like me, but you should talk to her.”

Bo chuckled sadly, smiling into her lap. “We tried that already. It only served to make things worse.”

“So that’s it?” Kenzi took another step, her fingers touching the arm of the couch. “The Dark Queen just gives up on her destiny?”

Bo smiled. “I can see why Lauren values your counsel.”

“Well?” Kenzi swallowed, sitting quietly next to Bo, perched on the edge of the cushion. “After everything you went through together to sign that peace treaty and unite the clans. Now you quit on her?”

“She quit on me, too.”

“And that makes it okay?” Kenzi asked, turning only slightly, wary of how close she was to the powerful queen. “She pushes you away and you think it’s not so bad out here on my own? Be serious, Bo.”

Bo chuckled softly, her smile contagious. “You’re brave, little Human, I‘ll give you that.”

Kenzi moved closer then. “If I’m brave it’s because I have fought beside Lauren and I have learned from her example.” She sighed. “And as much as it pains me to say this, ever since you came into her life she’s been happy. So happy that even I asked myself what you could’ve done to cause such a change in her.”

Bo looked at her hands, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. “She is my destiny.”

“Then go get her.” Kenzi smiled. “Because, seriously, the world’s not going to save itself.”

Bo chuckled. “Thanks Kenzi.” She clapped a hand on her knee and stood. She took a few strides and arriving at the bedroom door, she knocked twice and turned the knob. 

Lauren was lying on the small bed, her arm covering her eyes. “Go away, Kenzi.”

“Your cohort is wise beyond her years, you shouldn’t dismiss her so quickly,” Bo said.

She sat up abruptly. “Bo…”

Bo sat at the foot of the bed. It was dark, the sun on its way to setting again, but the muted light from outside still lit their features. “I thought we should finish our chat.” 

Lauren looked away. “What’s the use?”

“For starters, I’m not ready to walk away from you. From us.”

“But you’re willing to listen to Dyson and believe his insane theories?”

“I never said I believed him, but I have to consider what he says, Lauren. I owe him that much.”

“And what about me?” Lauren captured Bo’s gaze. “Do you owe me any courtesies or is that reserved for Fae?”

Bo smiled. “Just one.”

“And which one is that?”

“I love you, Lauren. You are my downfall. Brilliant and beautiful, I never even had a chance.”

Lauren furrowed her brow. “I’m not sure I follow…”

“Don’t you see?” Bo shifted to face Lauren. “You are so much more powerful than I ever knew and your serum could mark the end of my kind. And I can trust that you don’t mean us harm, but I could never know that for certain.” Bo reached for Lauren’s hand. “But there’s the rub. Because I would give you, even that, if you asked it of me.”

She shook her head slowly, in shock. “I would never…”

Bo smiled sadly. “And I believe you.”

Lauren clambered to her knees, kneeling beside Bo. She took Bo’s face in her hands, turning her towards her and kissing her tenderly. When they parted, she spoke. “It was my ego that guided me to keep that research.” She sighed, sitting back on her heels. “I am so sorry, Bo.”

She nodded. “I know.”

“I don’t want my bad decision to threaten this, to threaten you.”

Bo straightened and looked out the window. “We’re just going to have to get it back, then.”

“How are we going to get that plan past Dyson?”

“You ask as if you care what he has to say.”

Lauren shrugged. “I don’t, but he’s your General.”

She smiled. “Dyson will do as I do. He may not be happy about it, but he will follow me into war, of that I am certain.”

“As will I,” Lauren whispered.  
__

He didn’t take the news well, railing against every proposal the women came up with. “It’s too dangerous,” he said repeatedly, pacing back and forth in front of the door.

“And what do you think is going to happen if they go through that trunk and find the formula?” Lauren pushed. “Are we safer doing nothing?”

He scratched his beard. “You don’t understand what kind of operation Evony is running.”

“So tell us,” Kenzi interjected. “Or would you rather one of her assassins came at you with a needle?”

Dyson looked at Kenzi, almost telling her she didn‘t want to know. His eyes drifted to Bo and she nodded. “It’s a Circus of Pain,” he said finally. “They capture Humans and Fae alike and make them perform until they die.”

“Perform?” Kenzi asked, sipping hot chocolate. “What are we talking, like dancing bears or what?”

“Much worse than that.” He shook his head. “She’s declared herself Queen of the Outlands and her followers are many. From every walk of life, these animals scavenge for her sick theatre of misery. There are four of us and her court counts in the hundreds. This is a losing battle already.”

“Such optimism, my wolfy friend.” Kenzi’s hand squeezed Dyson’s shoulder. “You forget that I am the best Scout the Resistance ever claimed as their own.” She pointed to her chest with her thumb. “I can get us in there.”

“But can you get us out?” He asked, looking down at her.

“Duh.” Kenzi turned her palms to the ceiling. “Not only do we have a hunky wolfman, but we’ve got a wily doctor and, oh, I dunno, the most powerful Fae? What could possibly go wrong?”  
__

“Vex!” Evony yelled. “Bring me Vex!”

Her voiced echoed through the remnants of an old bank and the chambers of the Outlands Queen, complete with a sprawling vault which kept her spoils safe. Candles lit every nook and cranny of the crumbling concrete walls, outfitted with tapestries to disguise the holes. Beautiful Oriental rugs covered the cracked and brittle marble tiles on the floor and paper screens divided her personal space from her public space, hiding her bed from view. A wobbly table sat between a pair of mismatched wingback chairs, where Evony sat, sipping sparkling water through a straw. She ran a finger along the edge of the fine glass. In the center of the room was a large fire pit dug into the floor, vented through a large, drafty gap in the ceiling. She inspected her nails and when she looked up, Vex was shuffling towards her chambers.

He scuttled past the guards and through the door to stand before Evony. “At your service, my Queen.” He bowed.

“Cut the shit, Vex.” She blew on her fingertips. “What news do you have for me?”

He gulped. “The news?” Vex looked at her and seeing that she was not in good humor, he tried a different tact. “Oh, yes, the news. I’m afraid it’s not good, my Queen.” Her face changed and her eyes grew steely. “The Dark Queen and the Human Doctor disappeared in the night.”

“Where have they gone?” Evony said through clenched teeth.

He smiled. “Well, _that_ is the interesting thing about this situation.” 

“You better tell me something interesting before I feed you to the dogs.”

“Right.” He nodded and wet his lips. “My Queen, it seems they have sought refuge in the Outlands.” Evony’s face went slack. Vex shuffled his feet. “My Queen?”

And then it happened. Evony began to laugh. A giggle, a chortle, a full-on belly laugh. And when she caught her breath her eyes darkened. “Send search parties to comb the area. Find Bo and her little Human snack. We have a lot to catch up on.” Vex nodded and backed out of the building, never one to turn his back to Evony. “You’re in my world now, Succubus.”


	3. Chapter 3

__

“The worst enemy of life, freedom and the common decencies is total anarchy.“ --Aldous Huxley  
__

It was late. The wind blew through the trees and the drafty cabin, the breeze teasing the flames in the fireplace. Bo and Lauren sat on the couch in front of the fire, Dyson and Kenzi at the table by the window. The mood was somber. In the morning they would march into the unknown, into a war of their own making. There was no telling what they’d find in Evony’s tented empire, but she was a formidable opponent even without the numerous guards and countless followers.

Lauren rested her head on Bo’s shoulder, scooting closer in an attempt to stay warm. Dyson reached into his satchel and withdrew a towel-covered bottle. When the fabric fell away, Kenzi ooh’d and ahh’d at the reveal. It was whiskey that Dyson had found when he was searching for the trunk and it may as well have been liquid gold for how eager Kenzi was to drink it. She slapped the tabletop excitedly as Dyson poured four glasses. Standing, he delivered the liquor to the women on the couch, who gratefully received the gift, before returning to sit with Kenzi. 

She raised her glass. “To safe returns.” There was a silence then and nobody took a drink for an endless moment.

Bo raised her glass. “To safe returns,” she repeated and Dyson and Lauren followed in suit before tossing back the astringent liquid.

Lauren made a face as she swallowed but she was instantly warm. She sat up, exchanging a glance with Bo. “Goodnight everyone.”

Kenzi barely looked up from the glasses that she was refilling as Lauren ducked into the larger bedroom. Bo stood in front of the fire and watched Dyson throw back another shot. “I’m going to get some rest, too.” She walked toward the door Lauren had just disappeared behind before looking back at them. “Take it easy tonight. I need you both at your best tomorrow.” 

“Yes, my Queen,” Dyson said begrudgingly.

Bo pushed open the door and stepped inside. Lauren’s shirt was folded on the chair in the corner and she was peeling her pants away. When she stood, Bo lurched forward, crushing Lauren’s lips with her own. Her hands found their way to Bo’s jaw and then to the back of her neck as Bo reached a hand behind her back and popped Lauren’s bra open. In a flash, Bo was leaving a trail of kisses down her neck, her shoulder, and across Lauren’s chest. She lifted Bo’s head with some difficulty and held her head in her hands. Need was written across every inch of Bo’s face. Lauren traced a finger over her swollen lips before Bo drew it into her mouth, sweeping her tongue across her fingertip as she withdrew.

“Bo…” Lauren tilted her head to the side. Bo blinked the blue away from her eyes and focused her attention--her full attention--on Lauren. When she opened her mouth to say something Lauren shook her head, covering Bo’s mouth with her hand. “You don’t have to say anything.” She tugged at Bo’s belt, their hips bumping against one another as Lauren pulled her forward. Bo unbuckled her thigh holster without looking, letting it drop to the floor noisily and kicked it aside. Lauren swayed, a sexy little dance as she began to peel away Bo’s layers. Reaching for her again, Bo found her hips, still moving to a silent song. Lauren took a step forward, her arms slipping across Bo’s chest and up around her neck. She pressed her forehead against Bo’s, this was intimacy at it’s highest level. For Bo to restrain herself in such a way that let Lauren care for her, was the greatest silent compliment the Queen could give. To allow her to stand before her unspoiled was a miracle and Bo trembled with the effort it took to hold back. “My Queen,” Lauren whispered, her palm pressing into Bo’s cheek. In her eyes, a solar system of a thousand things she had never said twinkled in her belly, a growing fervor that made her quake. Lauren stepped out of her panties and pulled back the duvet. And that’s when the Queen’s resolve cracked wide open. 

She lifted Lauren off the floor by the waist and kissed her hungrily. Lauren’s hands sunk into her hair, her nails scraping across Bo’s scalp. Their bodies slid against each other as Bo set her down and backed her onto the bed. She crawled over top of her like a predatory animal but instead of tearing her throat out, Bo peppered it with kisses. “I want you,” she groaned against Lauren’s ear.

“I’m yours,” she said, cradling Bo’s head in her hands.

She spread Lauren’s legs and slipped between them. The first stroke of her hips made them shudder. This slow burn had turned into a house fire, and Bo would be the first to self-immolate. She pressed herself against Lauren and set her on fire, too. Her hips reeled backwards and then ground down onto Lauren’s. A moan escaped her mouth and Bo pressed a finger to her lips. “Shhh…” The walls were paper thin and Bo did not want to alarm their security detail. The last thing they needed was Dyson and Kenzi barging into the bedroom while they were in flagrante delicto. 

Suddenly an uncontrollable blaze, Bo’s pace was impossible, pressing, grinding, pushing and pulling. Her breath was hot against Lauren’s throat, her teeth scraping the sensitive skin. She pulled away, straightening as she guided Lauren’s legs around her waist. Bo’s knuckles went white as she squeezed her thighs and bucked harder against her. Lauren was writhing, pulling Bo against her, matching every push with a pull, meeting her hips as she pressed Lauren into the mattress. When her mouth descended upon Lauren’s again, Bo‘s lips greedily consumed her before breaking away again, Bo gasping for air. As their bodies slipped against one another, she tried desperately to maintain eye contact with Lauren, to tell her she loved her, to make sure she knew what power she held over her heart. But the pleasure and all-consuming need were ever-present and kept her eyes from staying open. Sweat beaded on Bo’s back and as she whimpered, Lauren held her hips, urging her on, her long lashes fluttering as release threatened. They were on the edge of the abyss again; that bottomless bliss that they felt when they were together. Bo leaned forward on her palms and as Lauren tensed, they held on to what was important and let go of the rest, liberation was theirs. Lauren held on to her then and buried her face in Bo’s shoulder as their bodies crashed against one another, a dance that was familiar and somehow always new. Bo kissed her fiercely, muffling their cries, her fingers squeezing Lauren’s hands beneath her.  
__

“Did you hear that?” Kenzi’s ears perked up as Dyson poured another round. She twisted and looked over each shoulder, convinced she wasn’t dreaming.

“I try not to listen when bedrooms are involved,” he said resentfully and emptied the glass down his throat.

Kenzi set her glass down. “Wow.” Her eyes widened. “You are a bitter boy. How long you been carrying that torch, wolfy?

“Too long,” he grumbled.

She shrugged. “So let it go. Let her go because if you haven’t got the hint by now, allow me to translate: she’s not interested.”

Dyson shook his head. “It’s not as easy as that,” he said filling their glasses again.

“Why? Tell Kenzi.”

He sighed, looking out the window. “We were betrothed.”

“And it didn’t work out,” Kenzi summarized.

He stared into his glass. “No, it didn’t.”

“Here’s a secret for you,” Kenzi leaned in, her voice lowered. “When it doesn’t work out you, move on, get a new gal and try again.”

He smiled. “When you have loved the perfect Fae, everyone else seems hopelessly flawed and uninteresting.”

Kenzi tsked and rolled her eyes. “Boring! Don’t you see how boring perfection is? Leave it for Lauren. What you need is a beautiful disaster.”

“A beautiful disaster?” He asked skeptically, watching her pour another shot for each of them. “Like you?”

Kenzi chortled. “You wish.” She bumped her shoulder against his.  
__

Bo collapsed beside her, a smile embellishing her beauty. Lauren tugged the blankets over them both and sighed. Tomorrow everything could change. She thought she was done with war, trading it in for diplomatic conflict but now, for that very reason they were in peril. She had to face her fate head on and facing it with Bo was as good as it got. 

Noticing Lauren’s silence, Bo rolled onto her side. She lifted a stray hair from Lauren‘s face and moved it to rejoin the other strands. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

“It’s not me that I worry for.” Lauren watched Bo’s hand drift, fingers traveling over her every curve.

“I have dealt with Evony before and I will gladly do it again.” She said against her ribs. “No one is getting hurt.” 

“What if she found the formula for the serum?” Lauren fretted.

Bo stopped and lifted her head, her eyes holding Lauren still. “Then we won’t have to look too hard to take it back.”

Bo’s resolve was inspiring. Lauren was pulled right in and in that instant, her racing heart calmed and she was overcome with emotion. “I love you,” Lauren said.

“I have never doubted that,” Bo grinned, kissing her navel. “Not for one second.”  
__

At dawn they mounted their horses and rode towards the rising sun. There was little chitchat, all steeling themselves against what was to come. Lauren watched Bo as she galloped ahead, her hair trailing behind her like a jet stream. Lauren’s horse nipped at her heels as Dyson and Kenzi flanked them and they rode for hours on the flat, barren wasteland that yawned in front of them in every direction they turned. It was a hopeless, terrible place that filled Lauren with dread. She remembered fighting off thugs for her valuables before. But then it was just her and Kenzi and hand-to-hand combat was their only defense. No weapons, no horses to gallop away on, just terror and a two-by-four. They survived. They always survived because they were strong. They were smart. And above all they were driven.

Now they rode into the wind as if it were trying to hold them back and Lauren took it all in. She watched Bo’s ass in those ridiculously tight pants hover above her horse’s saddle as she led the charge, how Kenzi chewed her bottom lip, and the stoic expression on Dyson’s face that told her he was barely hanging on to this mission. Lauren was starting to understand that there was no way Dyson was ever going to forgive her for swooping in and claiming Bo’s destiny, leaving him out in the cold. The silly thing was, Bo had given her the impression that there wasn’t anything between them for a number of years, so how Lauren had ruined his game was a mystery to her.

Dyson charged ahead, shouting as he pointed in the direction of Evony’s camp. Lauren followed his hand and saw smoke filling the sky. They were close. When they reached an outcropping of boulders, they slowed. It was time for Kenzi to do her magic. Kenzi had always been Lauren’s best Scout. She was able to talk her way into any situation and fight her way out of it when things inevitably went south on her. Today’s plan was to send Kenzi into Evony’s empire and scope things out, afterwards she would return, report and they’d make their decisions from there. It was a sound plan but something niggled at Lauren. She told herself it was the danger, that she was simply worried for Kenzi but part of her knew another truth lay waiting in the shadows.

“Be careful out there,” Lauren said, squeezing Kenzi’s shoulder. 

“Look out, Evony, Kenzi’s coming to town.” She mounted her horse again and smiled down at them. “I got this.”

“Kenzi, are you sure you don’t want me to follow?” Dyson asked.

“Are you kidding? The Queen’s General? Might as well send the Queen herself in there for all the attention that would cause.” He nodded.

“Kenzi,” Bo said, nodding at her. “Thanks.”

“At your service,” she nodded and clicked her tongue a few times before digging her heels into the horse’s side. And just like that, she was dashing away, toward a hefty mission and an uncertain future.

They watched her go, Dyson staying until she faded into the horizon. Lauren was building a fire behind the boulders as night began to fall. She pulled her jacket tight around herself, crouching by the growing flames as she poked it with a stick. She heard Bo approach, her boots grinding the dirt and sand beneath her heels. She paused beside Lauren and when she didn’t look up, Bo sat beside her.

“She’s gonna be okay,” she reassured.

“You said Evony…”

“I know what I said. That’s not important now. We have to believe we will win this or we might as not even try.”

She sighed. Lauren knew Bo was right. She knew you go into a situation balls out or you don’t bother going in at all. They had just come so far since the treaty was signed and Lauren wasn’t ready for their journey to end. Lauren sat back on her rear and leaned on Bo. “She’s the closest thing I have to family, Bo.” She held up a finger. “And before you get bent out of shape, I know we’re a family… It’s just different with Kenzi.”  
__

Kenzi stuck to the shadows, having hitched her horse a half a mile away from the Circus. Evony’s territory was a blown out city, most of its buildings had been destroyed by shells or bombs, Kenzi figured. At the center of the city was a massive circus tent, surrounded by dozens of smaller versions. There was a dull buzz about the town, revelers oblivious to her presence wandered the streets drinking and carrying on, some staggering, some lying in the shadows between tents. Kenzi pulled the scarf hiding her face up to her eyes and tried to remain inconspicuous ducking in and out of the shadows as she made her way to the main tent and the Circus of Pain, mapping the town in her head as she went.

Kenzi’s eyes brightened when she found a tear in the tent and parted the fabric to peer in. The bleachers were full and in the center of the ring was the ringmaster. A familiar fellow from behind, it wasn’t until he spoke into a microphone that Kenzi truly recognized him.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said with an unmistakable accent. “Now is that special time in our show when we test the human capacity for endurance.” Vex tapped on his top hat and waved to the open flap of the tent. Two goons pushed a pair of humans, both male, into the ring. “Let me get a good look at you,” he said scratching his goatee. “Ah, yes, we have the perfect exercise for you.” He spun around. “The flying trapeze!” He pointed to the roof of the tent. Kenzi couldn’t see much from her vantage point. Each goon took a prisoner and walked him toward opposing ladders before menacing them to climb. “Rules are as follows,” he said hopping about on one foot. “One of you must catch the other and safely deposit him on the other side. If you fail…” He dragged a finger across his neck. “I’m afraid we can’t afford a net so it’s dirt nap time for you both!”

Kenzi craned her head to watch the spectacle and still could only see part of it. The man reeled in the bar and held it with much trepidation, poised on the edge of the tiny platform. When he hesitated to leap off the platform, Vex gave him a nudge, lifting his arms and pushing the Human forward from his vantage point on the ground. The man swung forward, barely keeping hold of the bar before inverting and hanging his legs over it. Kenzi was impressed. The other man swung into frame briefly and then back out again. It went like that for what seemed like an eternity until Vex started to get impatient again.

“All right, you tossers,” he started. “Get on with it, will you?” Vex grumbled into the microphone.

When Vex raised his hands again, one of the men took a leap of faith and unbelievably the other man caught him. Their smiles faded after a moment when they had little momentum to carry them back to the platform. It was a war of attrition, the men growing weaker with each passing minute. Vex’s deranged giggle filled the big top. Just then, one of their hands slipped and the smaller man was left dangling high above the ground. The anchored man struggled to hold on to his friend, but he was too weak and the man was too heavy. But loyalty prevailed, he did not let go, even when he began to slip from the bar, his calves trembling with effort. Vex began a spirited countdown with the crowd, getting them involved as the men slipped again. At four, the man unhooked his feet from the bar and the men landed on the ground with a sickening thump. Kenzi looked away. She was out of her depths. She backed away from the tent and made her way quickly and carefully through the rest of the makeshift village before rushing back to her horse.  
__

“She should be back by now,” Dyson broke the silence as he looked out into the darkness.

Lauren glanced at her watch. “She’ll be here.”

“I bet you’re counting on that, aren’t you Doctor?” He leaned on a boulder casually.

“Absolutely,” Lauren affirmed.

“It would be a shame to lose another soldier because of your research.” He snapped a twig and threw it into the fire.

“Dyson,” Bo warned.

Lauren‘s gaze hardened, unwavering. “That’s not going to happen. Kenzi can take care of herself.”

Dyson smiled. “Lucky for you, she is loyal to you.”

“She serves the Queen now,” Lauren defended.

Dyson chuckled. “I am sure saving your research is not a priority for the Queen.”

“Then why are we here, Dyson?” Irritation had crept into Lauren’s voice.

“Because she can’t see the forest for the trees.”

“Dyson!“ Bo scolded, her voice echoing off the rocks. “You must stop this now!”

Dyson stared at Bo, blinking before he spoke. “I see,” he said, his eyes returning to Lauren. “I never thought I’d see the day that you would trust a Human over your own friend, General and yes,” he looked at Lauren as he dealt the final blow. “Lover.” Lauren felt his words like a kick to the stomach and he smiled as he saw it in her face.

“That’s ancient history and you need to move on.” Bo stood her ground. “I can’t do this anymore. I can’t be held as an emotional hostage because you can’t move on. I’m with Lauren, there is no ‘us,’ it’s over.” She pushed his chest. “Now, go.”

He walked toward his horse and paused. “I’m not leaving you,” he said quietly. “You need me.”

“Dyson, you never knew what I needed, that’s why we’re here now.”

He looked at the ground. “If that’s how it must be…” He took a deep breath. “I’m staying to fight for the sake of the Fae.” He clenched his jaw. “I’m through being here for you.”

Lauren, who had watched the dramatic exchange stood abruptly and peered into the darkness, the sound of a horse’s hooves approaching. “Kenzi.” she said hopefully.

When Kenzi galloped into camp and hopped off her horse, she surveyed their long faces. “Who died?” She said.

There were many answers to her question, but nobody was talking. Lauren walked swiftly to Kenzi’s side and hugged her tightly. “Glad you’re back.”

“What an operation they’re running there,” Kenzi said breathlessly. She squeezed her arms around Lauren.

“Sit,” Lauren said, motioning to the fire. “Tell us what you’ve discovered.”

“I caught the live show.” Kenzi started, sitting on a blanket next to the fire. “It was…disgusting.”

“And Evony, did you see her?”

“No.” She shook her head. “But you’ll never guess who I did see…”

Bo tapped her foot impatiently. “Well?” she pressed.

“Nobody’s gonna guess? That’s disappointing.” Kenzi poked the fire with a stick.

“Kenzi,” Lauren’s tone was a warning.

“Vex, okay? Vex was the ringmaster.”

“Shit,” Bo said. “Vex and Evony united in a common goal are unstoppable.”

Kenzi looked over her shoulder at Dyson, who still stood by the horses. “Hey wolfy, not even gonna say hello?

Lauren took a step toward Bo. “How bad is it?” she asked.

Bo sighed. “Let’s just say we have our work cut out for us.”

“Did you see the trunk, Kenzi?”

“No.” She shook her head. “They were loading all of their latest heists into the vault of an old bank but I couldn’t get close enough to look for the trunk.”

“A vault. That’ll be easy to get into.” Dyson said sarcastically.

“Seriously dude, what crawled in your craw?” Kenzi teased, looking at Bo and Lauren for some kind of reaction. 

Bo held up her arm, hushing her compatriots. She listened intently. Dyson stilled his hand on the boulder and turned around suddenly. He heard the swords unsheathing before he saw their faces. They were surrounded and under siege. As careful as Kenzi had been, the Outlands Queen’s patrol had spotted her watching the show and had been following her ever since. And despite the fact that Kenzi doubled back twice before returning to their camp by the boulders, she hadn’t lost them, nor realized they were on her tail. 

They had crept in, leaving their horses a distance away as Kenzi had done when she was scouting so there was little chance that they could hear them approach. Bo pulled the dagger from her thigh holster and lunged at the advancing Fae. Lauren was on her feet, weaponless throwing punches alongside Kenzi. It wasn’t long before they were overwhelmed. Bo had inhaled the chi of a handful of their attackers, their bodies laying by the fire in a heap, and Dyson had gutted no less than five Fae but when they turned toward the Humans they found them captured. Bo’s eyes flashed blue and the men pulled the women in front of them, knives at their throats. Bo slid her dagger back into its holster and straightened. It was too dangerous for her to take their chi and Dyson couldn’t even get close enough for a swipe.

“What’s it gonna be Queen of Nothing?” The mustache on his face tugged upwards and Bo shook with anger.

“Let them go,” Bo commanded.

“Nuh uh. It don’t work like that,” he said eyeing Dyson as he inched closer. “Easy wolf, it’d be a shame if one of these pretty little Humans sprung a leak.”

“What do you mean to do with us?” Bo asked.

“First, I’ll take you to _my_ Queen,” he sneered. “Then I’ll collect a hefty bounty and she will do as she pleases with you.”

“If you need us alive for a bounty, then why should we fear your blades?”

“Because she doesn’t care about this little Scout of yours,” the other Fae said. “But I’d be willing to bet you don’t want to watch me kill her either.”

“Let her go then. We’ll come with you.”

“Sorry, no loose ends. Evony hates loose ends,” the mustached one said. “Now walk.” He pointed with this knife before resting it against Lauren’s neck again.

Bo didn’t want to turn her back on the scum holding Lauren but he raised his arm menacingly, the blade drawing blood. Lauren flinched and Bo’s eyes flashed blue. “Easy, Succubus. You don’t want to see how deep this knife can go.”

“In front, wolf!” The other Fae yelled and pushed Dyson forward to join Bo as they began their walk into oblivion. They stumbled in the dark, down the bluff, closer to Evony’s empire and when they thought they were going to march them straight into town, Bo saw it: a cage that you might find at the circus. It was on wheels with a long arm, like a wagon.

There was a commotion ahead of them and then they were being hollered at. “Stop!” Bo felt the cold knife point against her back and grew stiff. Cold and dirty hands pulled a thick metal collar across her throat and buckled it snugly around her neck. She looked over her shoulder and saw Dyson snarling as he received the same treatment.

“Get in,” Mustachio said, gesturing to the trailer.

Bo looked at Dyson and opened the cage, climbing in first. Dyson followed in suit before the men pushed Kenzi and Lauren into the back and locked them in. It was cramped but there was no use complaining. They were on the bumpy ride to Evony’s city of mayhem and Bo couldn’t shake the feeling that she had made a horrible mistake. She watched the tent city’s gates approach, the imposing metal and fabric structure, a perfect representation of destruction and anarchy, loomed. Bo swallowed and shared a nervous glance with Dyson. Regret was filling her up so quickly, she thought she’d drown. Lauren looked to her for answers and Bo had none. They were about to face a powerful Fae and they were defenseless, locked in a cage. She reached in her sleeve and pulled out a handkerchief, reaching across the space between them and dabbing the cut on Lauren’s neck. She smiled. How she managed to smile in their predicament was beyond her, but Bo faked one for her just the same.

Mustachio and his partner received the heroes’ welcome from drunken revelers that crawled the makeshift streets. Tent city was awash with booze and violence, the miserable Fae fighting with one another for lack of anything else to do. As they ambled through the wide expanse of tents, they were heckled, insulted, and spat on. It was a degrading and humiliating experience that made Bo want to rage, but she felt impotent. She looked at Lauren and Kenzi who were oddly at calm in this horror show. They exchanged glances as they approached the big top and Bo felt like a slave being brought to the emperor and wondered if they were going to be fed to the lions. The cage stopped in front of the bank Kenzi had mentioned and Bo peered inside. The vault was closed and a number of figures milled about inside.

Mustachio rounded the back of the trailer. “Dark Queen and Human Resistance leader, you’re coming with me.” He jerked a thumb in the direction of the bank. The cage door swung open. “And if you try anything you’ll have two less friends when you come back.” 

Bo climbed out first, buffering Lauren from the mustached asshole this time. As soon as they crossed the threshold, a familiar voice called at them. “Bo, and Lauren, is it? Please, come in!” Evony approached Lauren, reaching out for her chin and turning her head to get a good look at her. “You’ve done well for yourself, Succubus.”

“Leave her alone,” Bo said. “This is between us.”

“Excuse me.” She turned to the mustached Fae. “Do you need something, Melvin?”

Melvin wrung his hands. “I, uh, my Queen, I was to understand there would be a reward. I lost ten men out there trying to bring them in.”

“Can’t you see I’m busy?” She scolded. “Come back tomorrow.” She waited for him to leave before turning back to Lauren with a smile. “Now, where were we?”

“He’s not going to get paid, is he?” Lauren asked, looking after Melvin.

Evony laughed. “No, I’m afraid not,” she said with a smile. “He’s going to die mysteriously in his sleep tonight, I’m afraid.”

Bo looked at Lauren. “Some things never change.” Evony smiled. “What do you want with us?”

“Darling, what don’t I want to do to you both?” Evony threatened.

“If this is about being banished, leave Lauren out of this.”

“Oh, Lauren is very much involved,” Evony grinned and stepped in front of the doctor. “Lauren… Lewis, is it? Yes, I remember.” Lauren looked at Bo with a confused expression. “How could I forget the Lewis family?” She sighed as if lost in nostalgia. “But more importantly, how could I have known when I signed your family’s death warrant that I would fill you with so much rage that you could become the leader of all the little Humans.” Lauren’s hands balled into fists, tears pricking her eyes and she blinked them away when she looked over at the Queen, who was suddenly speechless. “Oh, Bo didn’t tell you? That’s why she banished me. I guess I overstepped my authority but it brought you two together, didn’t it?” Bo’s heart fell to the floor and floundered there. Evony had always been critical of Bo’s vision of her destiny and now that she found out she was the architect of it she wasn’t going to miss a chance to tear it down. Bo reached for Lauren who wrenched her arm away . “Looks like I struck a nerve. Imagine that.” She smiled innocently.

“Cut the shit, Evony,” Bo growled. “What do you want?”

“I’m afraid I’m not ready to share that with you.” She batted her eyelashes. “But I will say that you have it coming to you, Dark Queen.”

“Oy!” Vex strolled into the bank and did a stutter step when he saw Bo and Lauren. “Well, looky here. When did the talent get here?”

“Nevermind that.” Evony waved it off. “Prepare accommodations for our guests, would you? VIP treatment.”

“Yes, Mum!” Vex rubbed his hands together.

“And when you’re through with that, search out Melvin and make it look like an accident.”

“Ooh, yes, Mum!” He jumped in place and waved to the women. “We’ll be seeing you!” he sang, skipping out the door.


	4. Chapter 4

"It is good that a man's enemies want him dead, for it proves he has lived a life of worth."--Forrest Carter  
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An hour ago they had been led into a tent that resembled a jail, a series of cages lining its walls. They were separated and caged like zoo attractions, similar in size and shape as the one they were transported in, old and weatherworn, but sturdy. The locks and levers did not budge. Bo stared at the waving tent walls, hugging her knees. As the temperature dropped and the wind began to gust she was grateful that the cages were at least sheltered, even if it was so they didn’t attract attention, not for their comfort. Evony had told them she had a very special fate for them and did not want to spoil it for the masses. Bo sat back and sighed. She looked over at Lauren who patently ignored her.

“Lauren,” she said, trying to get her attention. When she crossed her arms, Bo scooted to the end of her cage and gripped the bars. “You can’t ignore me forever. I’m right here and I’m obviously not going anywhere.”

Lauren sighed and turned her head, her expression was harder than Bo expected. “What happens when they take you away and do whatever they’re going to do to you? What happens then, Bo?” Then she remembered it the first time they met when she last wore an expression like that.

Bo blinked and nodded. “I’ll think of something.” She touched the collar that encircled her neck.

“You don’t even know what that does yet,” Lauren said, gesturing at the collar. “How can you be so sure you‘ll get the upper hand?”

“Because I’m not dying out here and neither are you. I have to believe destiny would not play such a hand just to snuff us out.”

“Get real, Bo!” Lauren snapped. “Fate didn’t bring us together, you did that. And fate isn‘t going to save us now either.” She gripped the bars, resting her forehead against them. “We’re in deep shit, Bo, and I just need you to try instead of deferring to the sun or the moon or the stars.” She sighed and her eyes softened, looking at Bo through the bars. “I need you to put on your god damn thinking cap and get us out of here.”

Kenzi shushed the pair. “How ‘bout we table the argument till we’re out of this circus from hell?”

“I should have told you,” Bo said quietly, ignoring Kenzi. “I just didn’t want you going off all half-cocked and making it worse than…well, than it already is.”

“I don’t think that’s possible,” she grumbled and let go of the bars, sitting on the floor again.

“No, I suppose you’re right.” Bo sighed.

“So what do we do now?” Lauren asked.

“I haven’t figured that out yet. I need to watch how they do things around here to find our opening.” Lauren leaned against the back of the cage, relief boldly painted across her features. “Lauren?” Bo whispered. “I really am sorry.”

“I know,” she said, more out of obligation than want to do so. “I don’t want to talk about this here anymore.”

Bo shrunk away from the bars and sat back heavily. She looked over to Kenzi, who looked away and then to Dyson who growled as he pulled on the collar around his neck. They were so divided in a time when they needed each other most. What the hell had they gotten themselves into? Dyson was surely blaming Lauren and Kenzi faulted Bo, it was obvious. The real question mark was Lauren. Bo had been furious about the research, but time had dulled her anger--it was still there, it just wasn’t like a knife in the back anymore--and Bo had also committed the crime of omission. They were essentially even, even if Lauren didn’t see it that way.  
__

“Chin up,” Dyson said quietly.

Kenzi hugged her knees and shook her head. “I got the Queen captured, I can’t believe you’re still talking to me.”

“Not your best work, I admit.” He smirked, scratching his beard. “But this is not your fault.”

Kenzi laughed. “I’m sorry? Did someone else lead the riff raff to our camp?”

“No, but you could not foresee it.”

“Then, who?” Kenzi shrugged and then pointed a finger at him. “If you say Lauren…”

His gaze hardened and her joke fell flat. “Sometimes there is no blame.” 

“And other times?” 

He lowered his voice. “It’s always obvious for a time who is responsible…”

Kenzi leaned in closer. “Well it’s pretty obvious you blame Lauren for a lot.”

The growl was low, Kenzi could barely hear it. “We are all guilty of something.”

“Of course we are,” she said. “And I know I like to keep that shit private. What about you?” she asked boldly. “Want to air your dirty laundry?” Dyson stared at her, blown away by her brashness, even now. His silence answered her question. “So maybe you can cool it on the Blame Lauren For Everything game and help figure out how to get us out of here.”

__

There was an excitement in the air surrounding the big top. Bo watched the shadows of the crowds travel past their tent and wondered with a sense of impending doom, what the next few hours had in store for them. Lauren hugged her knees to her chest and stared into space while Kenzi shook her cage, and Dyson sat cross-legged, stoically watching Kenzi as she tested every last weld and rusted spot.

It was time for a speech, Bo knew. It was time to rally the troops, raise morale, and mend the hurts of the past three days. Problem was, Bo was out of words. All she had was uncertainty and a collar. And she didn’t even know what the collar did, as Lauren so thoughtfully pointed out. “Shit,” she blurted and suddenly all eyes were on her. “We’ve come a long way, but our journey had just begun,” she started diplomatically. “Whatever happened out here is no bigger than any of us. We need each other if we’re going to get out of here. And I will stand by each of you until my dying breath.”

“Nobody’s dying.” Lauren’s voice cut through the silence. 

Bo smiled. Lauren’s killer instinct was back and Bo was beyond thrilled by this development.

And then it happened. The tent flap blew open and Evony’s long legs stretched into the space. Vex was at her side, excitedly tapping his fingers together as he spoke. “How’s the talent?”

Evony held up a hand. “Don’t be crass.” She smiled at the cages. “My very own petting zoo.” She swirled a finger through the air. “Eenie, meanie, minie, mo.” She pointed at Lauren.

Bo gripped the bars in front of her and shook her cage. “Leave her alone.”

“Or what?” Vex teased. Bo tried to take his chi, but nothing happened. He giggled sadistically. “You ain’t doing nothing with that collar on. In fact, you might as well be Human like your little girlfriend for all the power you have now.” 

“You’re getting ahead of yourself, Vexie. Guard!” She called to the front of the tent. A small Fae walked in with a cricket bat. Bo noticed he was wearing a collar too. “Vex, show our guests what happens when they take off their collars.” The guard’s face changed. “Take off your collar,” she said to the guard. He shook his head and began to quake. “Do it.” 

Vex lifted his arms and the guard mimicked his actions, reaching behind his neck and unbuckling the collar. Evony took a step backwards. A series of beeps and then an explosion. The guard’s body fell to the floor, his head rolling toward the door. Kenzi turned away.

“And I bet you’re thinking you could just do as you pleased and leave the collar but you would be wrong.” He pouted and lifted a remote in the air. “You see this button,” he pointed at the red button. “This button right here makes it go boom, too!”

Evony strolled up to Bo‘s cage. “So you see, you’re not doing anything. I’m going to take your girlfriend and her little meat bag friend and we’re going to have some fun.” She grinned. “But don’t worry, I’ll let you watch.” She winked. “Guard!” she called again and another collared Fae opened the tent flap. “Clean that up,” she said, pointing to the body on the ground. “When you’re through with that, take our guests to their seats.” She looked at Bo and then to Lauren. “We’ll be seeing you soon.”  
__

“Ladies and gents.” Vex’s voice boomed through the aged and crumbling speakers. “Tonight we have a very special guest joining us for the first…” He held a hand up to his mouth and whispered into the microphone. “And last time. Give it up for the Dark Queen!” He pointed at Bo sitting in beside Evony. “Now, it’s not often you get two Queens in one circus, so as you can imagine this is a very special occasion. And as such, we have a treat for you!” Lauren and Kenzi were led into the tent, helped along with a sharp prod in the back with a baseball bat. “These two adorable meat sacks are going to attempt the impossible…tightrope walking the high wire!” 

The crowd cheered and Bo stood up. “Stop this now.”

“Ah, ah, ah Succubus. Have a seat.” He held up the remote to her collar. “It would be a shame to have to watch that pretty little head get blown off your shoulders.” He shrugged. “Eh, who am I kidding, it would be amazing to watch that, but I’ve got something else for you to watch first. Now, sit!” Bo shrunk back as the guards prodded Lauren and Kenzi up the ladder. “How this works is, you make it across, you live to see another day and,” he lowered his voice, “another trial. If you don’t make it across, you die. Simple as that.”

The women reached the top of the platform and delayed starting, talking quickly. “Come on, all these people came to see a show.” The crowd cheered. “Give ‘em one already!” Bo watched as they were clearly fighting over who would go first when Lauren stepped out. She wobbled for a moment, gaining her balance before dropping. The crowd gasped. Vex giggled and bounced about like a kid on Christmas morning but was silenced when Lauren gripped the wire and then lifted her legs to wrap around it as well. Hand over hand, she inched across the wire. “Hey.” He looked at Evony. “That’s cheating!” But by the time Vex looked back again, Lauren was pulling herself onto the opposite platform and it was Kenzi’s turn. Kenzi tried the same tactic and it was working well for her until Vex raised his hand and began to interfere, using his Fae to pry Kenzi’s hands away from the wire, leaving her dangling by her knees.

“Kenzi!” Lauren shouted and the crowd began to laugh at their misery. And then it happened. Kenzi reached up and reclaimed the wire, scooting closer still. Vex was furious, pacing around the ring, lifting his top hat, scratching his head and pulling it tightly against his head again. With a flick of his wrist, Kenzi’s feet unhooked and she hung by her fingertips. Dyson lunged for Vex but was stopped in his tracks when the remote was brought into view again. Vex tapped the remote to remind him of the consequences, inadvertently giving Lauren enough time to reel Kenzi in and pull her up onto the platform. The crowd booed and Vex muttered to himself as the women climbed down the ladder, not wanting to test his control one bit longer than they had to. Bo smiled when Lauren was on solid ground, a wave of pride swelling in her chest. 

Evony smiled cordially, but her façade was only skin deep, she was furious that her grand plan had failed. “Put the animals back in their cages, we’re done here.” She stood and left the tent flanked by two guards. 

Bo took it all in. Watching her walk the short distance to the bank, the guards posting outside. She deduced that it was Evony’s home base and let her eyes linger too long. “What’s going through that pebble brain of yours, Queenie?” Vex prodded her with his foot. Bo jerked forward and Vex leapt backwards, laughing only when he remembered she couldn’t hurt him again.

They were led back to their cages as the spectators filed out of the tent and into the streets, the noise was deafening. They weren’t used to losing, it was clear, and soon she could hear a fight breaking out just outside their tent. Locked inside their cages once again, Bo was almost grateful that they were protected from the growing riot in the streets. It was complete and utter anarchy and there was no attempt to quell the rioters. 

As dawn began to brighten the sky, the mob had mostly tired itself out and the clean-up crew combed the streets, dragging bodies to a central location to be burned. The smell was sickening. Burning hair and fabric covered over the meat smell. So little value was placed on life in the Outlands but especially in Evony’s domain. It was a wonder she had any followers at all. But she kept them fed and she kept them in booze and they didn’t even care that she had taken their Fae away with those collars, it defied all logic. And yet, there it was. 

They were silent for much of the rioting, not wanting to attract the ire of the crowd but once dawn broke there was a sense of relief that they had actually made it through the night. Kenzi had drifted off not long after the sun had risen and Dyson sat with his back to them. Bo couldn’t say for certain but she thought he had faded into slumber as well.

“Lauren?” Bo whispered. The blonde was facing forward, her feet on the bars.

“Hmm?” She answered.

Bo scooted to the end of her cage and reached through the bars. Her outstretched hand remained empty until she spoke again. “Please don’t be mad at me. Not now. Not after what happened last night. I don’t want to die knowing--”

“We’re not going to die, Bo.” 

Lauren’s hand fit into the palm of Bo’s and the smallest kernel of contact had freed Bo from her doubts. The spark between them was still there in a handhold and she would be damned if she let anyone try to extinguish it. There was just one problem. “We still don’t have a clue how we’re getting out of here,” she whispered.

Lauren squeezed her hand. “I have a plan.”  
__

The rest of the day was gloriously quiet. Lauren closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the bars, imagining herself at home and in that massive clawfoot bathtub. The ruckus in the streets outside the tent shattered her daydream. She could hear Fae shouting “Human scum!” and “Human garbage!” among other insults. Lauren’s eyes opened and she perked up. The scuffle grew closer to the tent until a man was thrown through the open tent flap and five others were pushed in after. The Fae kicked and beat them until the blood ran into the ground.

“Stop!” Lauren shouted, getting to her feet.

The largest Fae looked up at the blonde angrily shaking her cage. He laughed. “Your leader demands I stop,” he kicked another Human soldier. “How does that make you feel, soldier?”

“This woman is not my leader.” He spat blood and looked away. His name was Gareth. He was a military man who had hoped this would be his last war. He just hadn’t counted on a super race to be his last enemy.

The Fae lifted the man off the ground. “Lucky for me, I don’t give a shit either way,” he said, punching him in the back of the head. Gareth fell limp in the guard’s hands and was tossed into an adjacent cage. 

“Up!” Another Fae yelled at the other men and they slowly stood, holding their heads, their sides, and their faces as they were crushed into a single cage.

The large Fae turned and waved to Lauren on his way out. “See you soon, sweetie.” He winked and let the tent flap fall closed behind him.

“Shit,” Lauren said, letting out a breath. “Are you okay?” The men eyed her suspiciously and ignored her. Lauren looked over at Bo, who nodded in the new prisoners‘ direction. “I’m Doctor Lauren Lewis,” she announced. “Leader of the Human Resistance. It’s time to end this war, soldiers,” she said solemnly. 

“That giant ogre must’ve missed the memo.” A soldier spat again. His compatriots murmured their agreement.

Lauren gripped the bars of her cage. “The service you’ve given your kind is commendable. I can offer you shelter, food, and jobs when we get back to the castle.”

“Pfft,” another soldier scoffed. “Yeah, at the Dark Queen’s castle.” It was a forgone conclusion.

“You must trust me,” she insisted.

“No thanks,” the same man grumbled, testing his shoulder. “We’ll get out of here on our own.”

“They mean to kill you for their own amusement, don‘t you see?” Lauren waited for the realization to dawn on them. “I barely made it through my own test in the ring.” She could see a few of the men stop what they were doing, but the vocal one wasn’t convinced.

“So where were you when we were fighting for our lives, Leader?”

“She was fighting alongside me,” Kenzi interjected, coming to the front of her cage. “And I wouldn’t have survived this long without her.”

“You must have needed every little girl you could find,” he chuckled. “Now if you’ll excuse me, my associates and I have to formulate a plan of action.” He turned his back on them.

Kenzi kicked at the bars in front of her in anger. “Listen up, asshole. Lauren is the man with the plan.

“Prove it,” the small one said.

She rolled her eyes. “Fine,” Kenzi sighed. “What was your last official mission?”

“The medical stores,” Gareth said, holding his head against the pulsing headache.

“Perfect,” Kenzi purred. “See if this sounds familiar: two guards at the gates, one at the main entrance, two patrolling, three in the back. Three in the back, you’re saying? Yeah, you missed the sniper in the tree and he took out one of your men. And why were you at a Medical stores? Because our god damned Doctor needed you there, so yes, she is our leader. Any questions?”

A smile spread across Lauren’s face. 

“I don’t care, lady, maybe she used to be the Leader…” Gareth looked at Lauren. “But you’re not anymore.”

Kenzi stuck her arms through the bars and swung at him despite the distance between the two cages. “You’re an idiot!” She shouted.

“That’s enough.” Lauren’s cool, calm voice smoothed Kenzi over. “He has a right to his opinion. What about the rest of you? Does this man speak for you?”

There were a handful who responded, “Yes, ma’am.” And then two timid voices came from the back of the cage: “No, ma’am.”

“Who said that? Come forward.” Lauren’s voice was authoritative. Stern. There was a jumble of bodies and then two young men had replaced the grizzled middle-aged men. ”What are your names?”

“Murphy, ma’am,” the kid with the crew cut said.

“And you are?” She pointed at the young one with the slicked back hair.

“Tyson, ma’am,” wiping the blood from his nose.

“Can you fight like your name implies?”

A smile spread across his face and he kissed his flexed bicep. “Yes, ma’am.”

“What about you, Murphy?” Lauren nodded at him. “Think you could hold off a bunch of these brutes while we coordinate an escape?”

“Without a doubt.”

“Great,” Lauren said. “We’ll need you both if we’re going to escape this place.”

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Kenzi boasted. “Now sit back and watch the master plan our escape.”  
__ 

As the shadows grew longer and the sun began to set, the prisoners became restless in their cages. The Resistance company were jammed into such a small space that they had to keep moving or their limbs would go numb and they couldn’t afford to be compromised when they didn’t know the Fae’s next move.

“Bo,” Lauren whispered.

She was in a world of her own and did not even look up or into Lauren’s eyes which were screaming her own fear but as the war had taught her, sometimes you just have to play through the pain to get what you want and she wanted to go home. With Bo.

“All right.” Evony’s voice cut through the silence. “Listen up, girls.” She looked at the men pressed against the bars. “And my special guests…” She motioned to Bo and Lauren with a flourish. “That little shit show you pulled last night will be your last. Hear this, Succubus, tonight you will die.”

“It’s funny,” Bo thought out loud. “That sounds awfully familiar. Didn’t you say that last night?”

“I may have--”

“And yet, we’re still here,” Lauren prodded.

Hand on her hip, Evony tapped her foot. “You’re right. We’ll switch it up a bit tonight.” She tossed her hair. “Hope you’re ready for more fun than all your Queenly fortunes can buy, Bo. Tonight your life ends.” The self-satisfied grin was telling. “And if I’m lucky, it’ll be by your blonde terrorist lover’s hand.” She winked at Lauren and threw back the tent flap, a cool breeze followed her exit.


	5. Chapter 5

__

The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemies.--Napoleon Bonaparte  
__  
A traitor is a betrayer - one who practices injury, while professing friendship. [...] An open enemy, however criminal in other respects, is no traitor.--Lysander Spooner  
__

It was late and they were being herded into the big top. It was dark, their stroll illuminated by torches held by their armed escorts. Walk too fast and you risk a golf club across your chest, too slow and a baseball bat would poke you in the back. It was a delicate balance. There was a dull roar coming from the massive tent in the middle of this wasteland city, the rest of the town deserted. Everyone who was anyone was there, crammed into the tent for the big show.

Inside, the sound was deafening. It was a vicious crowd, full of the bloodlust they were denied. They wanted it with interest now. Evony was waiting eagerly in what they had come to know as her usual spot and Vex, at the center of room and the center of everyone’s attention. It was a full house tonight. A guard pushed her hard, sending her reeling into Bo who caught her clumsily. They shared a smile, a lingering glance and soon Evony was shouting: “All right, break it up!” And Lauren was being dragged away from Bo as she was led into the ring.

“You’re all about to see something special here tonight,” Vex spoke into the microphone. “Because tonight we have what some might say is the most powerful Fae trussed up like a Christmas turkey on a roulette wheel as her beloved,” he said sweetly, “human lover tosses knives at her!” Vex threw his head back and laughed maniacally. The crowd applauded but none so long as Evony.

Then she saw it: the Wheel of Death, Bo strapped to its surface. The bottom fell out of her stomach as Vex approached with a handful of knives. This was not in her plan. “Now,” he said to Lauren. “Be smart and don‘t make me end your girlfriend sooner than necessary.” He passed the knives to Lauren. “I want you to do that for me,” Vex whispered. 

As she stood there, watching Vex pull a lever that started the wheel spinning Bo round and round, Lauren herself felt nauseous even as she stood firmly on solid ground.

“Let’s see what you’ve got!” Vex teased.

She held the knife by its tip and raised her arm. She closed her eyes and swallowed her heart, which had lodged itself in her throat. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes, pulled her arm back and then flung the knife at the rotating wheel. She heard it hit the wood and the crowd gasped. 

“First time lucky!” Vex called to the throng, taunting Lauren as he did. She gritted her teeth as she threw the next knife only to have it hit the board, before skittering off of it and landing in the dirt. “Oh ho!” Vex called. “Go on, give us another go.” 

She flipped the blade into the air and caught it by its tip. Only then did Lauren smile, her eyes trained on the board as it rotated. As she hurtled the knife in Bo’s general direction, her breathing was even, her hands were steady and she was relaxed. She had done this a hundred times, after all. The Leader of the Resistance was not a warrior in the traditional sense of the word. She demanded attention, but was quiet and cerebral. Stealth and distance was her mantra. It was a little known fact, but the Leader of the Resistance was known for her knife throwing skills and it never took long to convince any doubter. Her closest crew knew that when a blade was in her hand, you took Doctor Lewis seriously.

A loud crack and a spray of blood hit the dirt in front of Lauren. Her face fell. Maybe her aim hadn’t been as true as she thought, but then she saw the blue glow of Bo’s eyes and the broken collar fall to the ground. The flow of chi from Vex to Bo was incredible and Lauren took the opportunity to stop the wheel and pilfer Vex’s pockets. Lauren stole the remote from his pants and deactivated Dyson’s collar before stowing it away again. 

Dyson took up the fight inside the big top with Evony’s guards as Lauren rushed to free Bo from the shackles on the wheel. Fae rushed from the stands as Evony fled to the bank. Lauren could only watch her go as she released Bo. “Nice shot,” Bo said, holding her throat where the cut had once been.

“It’s a finite science.” Lauren smiled and Bo looked skeptical. “I got you out of that collar, didn’t I?”

“That you did,” Bo acquiesced. “Now let’s find us this so-called Queen of the Outlands,” Bo said scanning the chaos. 

“First things first,” Lauren said rushing out of the big top. Dodging the fist fights that had broken out in the streets, Lauren returned to the tent they were being held captive. She unfastened the lock on the human soldiers’ cage before freeing Kenzi. “Oren, Kenzi, tie Vex up. Make sure he can’t get loose. Tyson, Murphy, I need you watching our backs.” She turned to leave the tent when a voice stopped her.

“What would you like me to do, ma’am?” It was the Gareth, the older soldier. Three others stood behind him saluting. “We’re ready for our assignment.”

Lauren barely smiled and let out a sigh. “Find Dyson, fight by his side.”

“But he’s a shifter,” one of them said. 

“And she’s a Succubus.” Lauren nodded her head at Bo, who was looking anxious. “We help our friends.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Gareth said.

Bo’s hand slid into her grip and pulled her out of the tent, running hand in hand for the bank. It was almost over. They just needed to bypass Evony and get into that safe and she would have her research back. She could take Bo’s hand again and walk out of this place she now associated with Hell. 

She slid into Bo’s side as they skidded to a stop inside the Bank. There, on the counter, sat Evony. “Well, isn’t that just the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen!” She exclaimed, upon seeing their hands still pressed together. “Where’s my barf bag?”

Lauren wasn’t prepared for the pressure in her chest at seeing Evony again, perched smugly even as her empire crumbled around her. She wished for a knife in her hand, it would be so easy to take care of her. Evony fell backwards off the counter in her mind’s eye and like that, the battle was won.

She felt Bo squeeze her hand and Lauren blinked, coming back to reality. She cleared her throat. “Open the vault.”

Evony grinned, ignoring her. “What brings you to my little encampment?” she asked, re-crossing her legs.

“You stole from me.” She leveled her gaze on Evony. “And I want it back.”

“Of course,” Evony said congenially. Her nonchalance was irritating. Evony had to know she was as good as captured. But as if nothing was wrong, she swung her legs over the other side of the counter and moved to type in the combination into the pad and Bo let Lauren go and took a few clumsy steps forward, holding a hand up so she’d keep her distance. The buttons beeped and the lock clunked as the door opened. “All yours.” She smiled slyly.

Bo chuckled. “I’m not going in there. You’re going to bring the luggage out here for us.”

Evony pouted. “I’m afraid it’s much too heavy for little ol’ me.” Bo looked at Lauren and then back to Evony who smiled like a crocodile.

Lauren smiled back as she waved Tyson and Murphy into the bank. “Remove the luggage,” she said, pointing to the vault. “And anything else that looks good.” She winked at Evony who made a move to protest. Bo grabbed her before she even got half a step and wrenched Evony’s arm behind her back, both watching the boys move quickly back and forth.

“Where’s your army of misfits now, Queen?” Bo whispered into Evony’s ear as she marched her out of the bank. She led her through the short walk to the big top, soldiers, Fae and Human alike stopped to watch Bo with a captured Outlands Queen. Evony shuffled into the big top, the ringmaster bound and gagged quite effectively in the main ring. Kenzi sat on the bleacher’s second row a few feet away wearing a satisfied smirk as he wriggled about. 

Evony pulled against Bo’s grip. “You’ll be sorry, Succubus,” she said through her teeth. “Any minute now…” She trailed off at the group of humans that strode into the tent, carrying bats and lead pipes over their shoulders.

They stopped in front of Kenzi. “Perimeter’s clear,” Oren, the one in front said.

“You sure?”

He nodded. “Walked around three times. All Fae have either left, or have been neutralized.”

“Except me.” Dyson walked in from the other side of the tent. He walked up to Bo. “They’re right,” he told her. “I don’t sense any other Fae than those in this room, or the ones we’ve put in the cages.”

Bo grinned and yanked Evony against her. “Hear that?”

“Don’t think my capture means peace for you,” Evony warned. “I’m not the only one that doesn’t buy your grotesque future of sunshine and rainbows. The Fae won’t stand for it.”

“Well then you’ll have some time to craft a good story when they join you in my dungeon.” Bo handed her off to Dyson. “Take her to the cages. We’ll leave in the morning.”  
__

“Close your eyes,” Bo’s voice was rich with promise and Lauren had no other option but to do as she was told. Bo took her hand and led her across the uneven flooring of the bank. “Open them,” she said when they had stopped.

They were behind the screen on the far wall of the bank and tucked behind the partition was a bed, with a mattress and blankets and everything. Lauren’s eyes grew larger. “Do you think Evony and Vex…”

Bo made a face. “Ew, no, their relationship has always been a brother-sister sort of thing.”

“Let’s hope the long, cold, winter hasn’t changed that.”

“D’ya wanna sleep here or would you rather gross me out with more Vex and Evony talk?”

Lauren smirked. “As much as I want to be creeped out by this, I‘ll admit I‘m intrigued.” And just like that, she was pulling her boots from her feet and kicking the jeans from her legs. She climbed into Evony’s bed and stretched languidly. “You’re going to sleep in here with me, right?”

“Absolutely.” Bo tucked her thigh dagger under her pillow and stripped down to her underwear. As she slid between the sheets, Bo could scarcely remember why she had resisted the idea when she found this treasure. It was a new realm of pleasure some ten thousand thread count wrapping her up like an otherworldly cocoon. Lauren scooted closer as Bo stretched. She yawned and pressed a kiss against Lauren’s cheek. “Tomorrow we head home.”

“I can‘t wait.” Lauren lay back on a fine down pillow and stared at the crumbling ceiling, torch flames flickering. If she focused she could see the stars twinkling through the cracks in the roof. “Bo?” She whispered.

“Hmm?” Her feet poked out from beneath the duvet, before shrinking back underneath it as a cool breeze blew through the bank. 

“Would you still love me if I wasn’t your destiny?”

“You mean like, on the side?” Bo managed to keep a straight face for a moment before cracking a smile.

Laughing, Lauren pushed Bo away. “You rascal.” She smiled, fluffing her pillow.

“Well? What kind of question is that?” Bo sat up on her elbow. “You’re stunning, who wouldn’t fall in love with you?”

Lauren smiled bashfully. “Something must’ve attracted you to all those women who came before me, too. And you… They… didn’t survive.”

Bo frowned. “Is that what you’re worried about? Surviving? I thought you knew me better than that.”

“I do. I just-- I need to understand what made me the one for you.”

“Destiny is known by many names.”

Lauren rolled her eyes and sighed. “Why do you keep going back to that?” She turned over, frustrated.

Bo reached out for her back but pulled her hand away before she spoke. “That first moment I set eyes upon you, I could feel it. My heart ached, the blood that coursed through my veins felt foreign, like a stranger had infused mine with theirs. Your beauty, even as you were bloodied, bruised and dirty was apparent to me. But the thing that made me certain you were the one was the fight in your eyes. A glimmer that said you would never give up.” Bo reached out again and touched her shoulder this time, gently, tentatively. “None of the others had that.” Lauren smiled into her pillow. “It’s true,” Bo whispered into her ear, kissing her neck as she pulled away. “Now,” she trailed a finger down Lauren’s shoulder to her fingertips. “Tell me why you’re still here.” 

“You were gentle, even when you were at your harshest. I knew you were not what you pretended to be.” Bo laughed. “Am I wrong?” Lauren asked, rolling over again.

“I suppose not. It’s not every day that someone tells the Dark Queen that she is gentle.”

“I would be so bold.” She smiled at the cracked ceiling. Her eyes traveled to Bo who still propped herself up on an elbow. The muted light from the candles next to the bed cast a glow on Bo’s skin that stunned her and she reached for her hand. “Come be gentle over here.”

Bo leaned over her, pressing her lips against Lauren’s. Her lips were soft and she sucked in a ragged breath between kisses, a blue flash across her eyes. “We can’t.”

“Shhh,” she hushed her with another kiss. “Oren’s out there. We’re covered.”  
__

Outside the bank, it was quiet. There were a few soldiers that patrolled the area around the big top, but only one stood at the bank’s entrance. Oren’s steely gaze surveyed the streets in front of the bank, waiting for any sign of intruders. He gripped the aluminum bat tighter when he heard footsteps approaching until Kenzi appeared in the dust, strutting toward the soldier.

“Checking up on me?” He asked, running a hand through his long, dark hair. She could read the relief plainly on his face.

Kenzi shrugged. “Any reason why I would need to?” Kenzi asked, kicking at the crumbling concrete of the stairs, arms crossed.

He shook his head. “I got this.”

Kenzi had said that a million times over but she wasn’t going to leave a rube to look after the Queen and Lauren for his first big assignment no matter what Dyson thinks. “Yeah, well, now you’ve got a little help, too.” Kenzi sat on the stoop.

Oren sighed. “I don’t need a babysitter,” he grumbled.

She leaned back on her forearms, crossing her legs at her ankles. “How ‘bout a date. Do you need one of those?”

His forehead furrowed. “I’m not sure I understand.”

“I’m asking you out, Oren. Is that something you’d be into?”

He looked around. “We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

“I know where we are.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s not like it can’t wait until we get back to the castle.”

“Sorry, I’m just not used to the attention of a female.”

Kenzi smiled. “I kinda got that impression.” 

He sat beside her. “Where are you from?”

“Easy does it. My family is a two-part series that can only be told on the third date.”

“Oh,” he deflated. “What should we talk about, then?”

They sat in silence for a moment before Kenzi couldn‘t handle it anymore. “Gareth is kind of a killjoy, isn’t he?” she said and she could see him relax a little.

“Yeah,” he giggled, his boyish charm enticing Kenzi. “But he’s okay, really he is. Just doesn’t have a sense of humor is all.”

“Who needs one of those, am I right?” She said awkwardly, scuffing her boots on the steps to the bank.

“Yeah,” he said in jest. “So, uh, when did you enlist?”

“I was seventeen, going nowhere fast. No family to speak of and the Fae had chased me from the only home I had ever known. I found a new home with the Resistance, learned to scout and the rest is history. What about you?”

“I was sixteen. My older brother, Patrick enlisted and I followed suit. When he was killed last year, I almost quit, but Gareth told me quitting wouldn’t serve his memory, so here I am.”

Silence loomed large between them again. “I’m sorry you lost your brother,” she said finally. “You must be relieved to know that the war is over.”

Oren looked at her seriously. “Is it? I mean, will it ever truly be over?” he asked wistfully. 

She nodded. “Yes. And life after the war is more than three square meals and a bunk. It’s freedom.”

“But you still serve the Queen…”

“I do. She must be protected or peace will fail.”

He twirled the end of the bat in the dirt. “But she’s the biggest, baddest Fae of them all. How can she need our protection? I’m just a human.”

“Just a human? Oren, you surprise me!” She said clapping a hand on his knee. “We are never ‘just humans.’ The Fae may be strong, but they’re bound by rules we humans are free of. We are the agitators, the heroes, we’re mobilized and marginalized but we are proud and never ‘just’ anything.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said quite seriously. “I never let myself imagine what a peace-time would look like but I gotta be honest, I never thought it would look like this.”

Kenzi smiled. “Which part? The lovely, lady leaders or this formerly Fae stronghold?”

“Both, I guess.” He leaned on the end of bat. “Aren’t you worried the Queen is using her influence on the Leader?”

Kenzi laughed. “I used to be suspicious, but the Queen has proven herself trustworthy.”

“And she trusts you?”

“I think so. It’s not a bad gig, serving the Queen.” She counted off on her fingers. “Food, shelter, security…”

“Are you happy?” He asked. “With your new life?”

“Yeah. I mean, you gotta stay hungry, right?”

“I think I could be happy, too.” He sighed. 

Kenzi scooted closer to Oren and put her head on his shoulder. He looked at the top of her head, bewildered and frozen. “Kenzi?”

“Yeah?” She said quietly.

“I’m glad we met.”

Kenzi snaked an arm under Oren‘s, hugging it to her body. “Me too.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Regardless of your faith, you can never escape uncertainty.” ― Shannon L. Alder  
__

Morning came quickly and Dyson was up before first light, gathering horses and supplies, organizing troops and sipping from found bottles of liquor. By the time he sent Kenzi to wake the Queen, he smelled heavily of booze.

Even as Kenzi bounced on her side of the bed, not yet brave enough to try such a move on Bo, Lauren was left feeling sleep deprived and anxious. Victory had come easily. Too easy. She wanted to believe that they were smarter and faster than Vex and Evony but the fact of the matter was they didn’t really put up a fight. She looked across the camp to the two bound and hooded prisoners. Today they would return home. Home to the castle. Bo was abuzz with a nervous energy Lauren had never felt from her before. They had vanquished their enemies and were free to return to the lives they had abandoned weeks ago. It was thrilling if not a bit unsettling. 

They rode out at first light, the Queen on her precious mare once again, the Human soldiers flanking them. Lauren luxuriated in the wind in her hair, the ground solid beneath her horse’s hooves. Freedom seemed almost a foreign concept after the past few days spent in Evony’s cages. She had to admit to having doubts, to wondering if they could ever escape the sadistic circus. But now Evony and Vex rode the same horse, hands bound, eyes blindfolded and most importantly, their necks collared as Dyson led their horse through the Outlands.

The journey home was long, but thankfully the weather held out for them. Night had fallen, cooling off the sun’s rays from the afternoon. The moon was plump and bright in the sky and their fire was warm. Bo looked at the bottle of whiskey in her hand and took a long drink, her eyes squeezing shut as she swallowed. Her foot tapped impatiently and she looked around, spying the pair of Resistance soldiers guarding their prisoners. The excursion had made her suspicious and paranoid. The whole ordeal had been too simple and Bo would never assume victory until she had Vex and Evony safely locked up. She looked over her shoulder to the large boulders Dyson had suggested they make camp by. It was earlier than she wanted to stop, but it was the most sheltered place they could see for miles.

Across the fire they had managed to the build, the Dark Queen watched Kenzi regale the remaining Resistance soldiers with tales of her adventures with Lauren. Her arms flailed wildly as she described running from the Queen’s Guard and landing in in the bowels of her dungeon, being brought back to life by the Resistance Leader, and being summoned by the Dark Queen herself. Kenzi was a wild and flamboyant personality, but her loyalty was invaluable.

Bo smiled when she saw Lauren turn the corner from where their horses and supplies were stored for the night. She nodded toward Kenzi as Lauren sat down on the ground next to her. “She weaves quite the tale.”

“She always has,” Lauren said and smirked when Bo offered her the alcohol. “Where’d you get this?”

Bo waggled the bottle until Lauren took it and tipped it back. “Found it next to Evony’s bed.”

Lauren smiled around the liquid, wiping the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. “It is lonely at the top,” she said once she swallowed.

“It was.” Bo took another swig and looked at Lauren with a glint in her eye. The fire crackled in front of them as she looked through the flames. “Thanks for giving Dyson charge of your people.”

Lauren nodded, tapping Bo’s arm for possession of the whiskey. “I appreciate his loyalty to you.”

Bo looked at her lap while Lauren drank from the bottle again. “It’s his loyalty to the Fae you want to be grateful for.” She could feel Lauren’s eyes on her even before she looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps. Bo’s back straightened, her eyes narrowing. The silhouette was lit by the fire and Dyson stopped to kneel next to Bo, scanning the crew of humans hanging on Kenzi’s every word.

“The area’s clear,” he said, glancing at Lauren. “Resistance guard the prisoners, two above on the rocks.” Dyson looked up and pointed out the humans armed with a long bow and a quiver full of arrows, part of the spoils from the Outland Queen’s defeat. “They can see for miles.”

Bo took Dyson’s hand and squeezed it. “Thank you, Dyson.”

Dyson smiled warmly, but his eyes betrayed him. “My Queen.” He bowed his head, but when he looked up again, it was Lauren’s eyes he met with. “Lauren, your men are unskilled and undisciplined, but their passion and belief in you and your cause gives them the strength and courage of Fae. I can teach skill.” He grinned. “And I can discipline.”

“Dyson…” Bo nudged him.

“Thank you, Dyson,” Lauren said. “My forces will only benefit by your guidance.”

Dyson barely smiled and bowed his head. “Ladies,” he excused himself before getting to his feet and resuming his patrol. He disappeared into the shadows.

“I’ve felt like him before,” Lauren said.

Bo looked at her. “Like what?”

“Dedicated, eager, fiercely loyal…” Lauren sighed. “Hopelessly enamored.”

“You felt like that?”

Lauren smiled. “Every time I look at you.”

Bo leaned over, her fingers weaving into Lauren’s hair before their lips met. Her lips were warmed from the fire, soft and intoxicating and Bo couldn’t help tasting Lauren’s upper lip, a soft groan escaping her. She pulled away, resting their foreheads together. “I love you,” Bo breathed, her fingers trailing along Lauren’s neck. “I should have told you about Evony.”

Lauren nodded. “You should have,” she said, her hands moving to rest under Bo’s ears.

“Will you forgive me?”

Lauren kissed her and Bo sucked in a breath, unprepared. When Lauren pulled away moments later, she held her breath. Bo held hers, too, the fire snapping and popping in front of them, afraid to move. “I love you, too,” she said and kissed Bo again, as if unable to keep herself at bay.

Bo shifted closer and put her hand down on the sandy dirt, bracing herself as she leaned into Lauren. They had said the words before, but the tumultuous journey to and now from the Outlands had raised a few question marks that neither were keen to answer. But when Lauren wrapped her hand around Bo’s wrist, her fingers trailing along Bo’s arm, the Queen leaned in further, forcing Lauren to brace herself with a hand behind her.

It was when Bo took a breath, her eyes rimmed with blue as she looked at Lauren, that the catcalls and whistles finally broke through her thoughts. Bo blinked just as Kenzi’s voice chimed in.

“Ay, ay, ay!” she yelled from over the firepit. “I’m trying to entertain the troops here, quit stealing the limelight!” Kenzi put her hands on her hips. “Seriously, how am I supposed to compete with that?”  
____

The fire was starting to die out as the last few soldiers were collapsing onto the wet earth from exhaustion and drunkenness. Oren carefully piled fresh wood onto the fire and sat beside Kenzi, who reached into his jacket and claimed the flask she found there. She leaned into him, unscrewing the lid and taking a sip.

“So, they’re pretty serious, huh?” Oren nodded at Bo and Lauren who lay across the fire from them, asleep.

“That’s one word for it.”

“It must be hard to work so close with someone for so long only to have another move in and take your place.”

Kenzi laughed. “No, it’s not like that. It never was.”

“Oh,” he giggled. “I just thought…”

She rolled her eyes. “I know what you thought.”

“Okay, okay,” he said, staring into the fire. “Do you ever get lonely?”

Kenzi swallowed and sighed heavily. “Every day.” She drank from the flask.

“How do you cope?” Oren asked in a show of genuine sensitivity.

“I keep busy. There are always fights to be broken up in the pub and as an added bonus I can drink while I keep the peace there.”

Oren nodded, swallowing whatever it was he was going to say before he confessed. “I’m scared, Kenzi.”

Kenzi smiled. “You’re doing the right thing. We can look after you, Oren.”

“I’ve just been fighting since as long as I can remember, you know? What’s left for me?”

“You’ve got your whole life, and I’m sure a number of adventures, still ahead of you.”

“There’s just one adventure I’m interested in,” Oren said quietly, leaning toward Kenzi as the fire crackled in the silent night. He took a fistful of dirt and sand in his hand and let it run through his fingers before his eyes met Kenzi’s and her hand came to rest on his cheek. She nodded at him and he closed the distance between their mouths, lips parting slightly when they touched at last. 

It had been so long for Kenzi. She had flirted with the idea of having an affair with Dyson but he never seemed to get over the Queen long enough for Kenzi to even have a shot at distracting him from his thoughts. And then there was Oren. He was a soldier with his heart on his sleeve and Kenzi understood that about him. They shared many commonalities and now they shared this kiss. A kiss that made her knees tremble even as she sat next to him and filled her with a sense of expectation.

When Oren backed away he smiled bashfully, a blush having touched his cheeks beneath Kenzi’s fingertips as she pulled his face toward hers again. The second time their lips brushed against each other, a spark rippled through Kenzi and she wished for some sort of privacy. She pulled away and kissed her way along his jaw to his ear. “You’re not alone anymore,” she said before leaning back and sipping from the flask once again.  
__

When dawn bloomed in the sky the following day, Lauren awoke first and spotted Kenzi asleep with her head on Oren’s chest. She smiled. It was Kenzi’s time. She had not been the most patient as Bo courted her but Lauren knew that was only because watching Lauren find love was hard for Kenzi. Because Kenzi was gaining someone as Lauren was losing her. 

Lauren stood over the pair, admiring the look young love had spread over them. A blue eye opened. “A little creepy, even for you, Doc.”

Taking a step back, Lauren smiled. “Oh good, you’re up. You can help me with breakfast.”

Kenzi rolled away from Oren and stood, dusting herself off. “Always gotta shake down my happy tree, don’t ya, Doc?”

“Keeps you honest.” Lauren patted her on the back as they walked toward the small creek that passed through their camp. “Why don’t you tell me about Oren.”

“Just another dumb boy,” Kenzi lied.

“Kenzi…” Lauren warned.

“He’s amazing, okay?” She looked guilty and for the life of Lauren she couldn’t figure out why.

“I’m happy for you.”

“You mean that, I can tell.” 

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t know… I just thought you wouldn’t want me to lose my edge.”

“Is that even possible?” Lauren joked as she scooped a container of water from the stream. They walked back up the incline to the camp and Lauren set about boiling water for drinking and fixing quick breads for breakfast. Lauren was quiet, lost in thought. She felt protective of Kenzi--they had been through so much together--but this was different. Kenzi was rushing headlong into a relationship with a soldier they barely knew anything about. But Lauren was prepared for the disdain she’d face if she mentioned that, for she had her own fly by night relationship and Kenzi only objected at every turn. Still, she couldn‘t help asking: “Are you sure this is what you want?”

Kenzi stopped mixing the batter and leveled her eyes on Lauren. “How could you ask me that? After everything.”

“Kenzi, we don’t know anything about him,” Lauren said emphatically.

“I checked him out. I’m a scout remember? It’s what I do.”

“I’m just worried--”

“I know you are but it’s time to cut the strings.” Kenzi resumed her task. “Let me live this new part of my life as I see fit, not under the orders of you.”

Lauren stopped. “What are you saying? You want out?”

Kenzi sighed. “I just need some space, Doc.”

“Okay,” Lauren said, getting to her feet. “When we get back to the castle you will have as much space as you need.” She grabbed another container to fill at the stream and walked away from the fire.  
__

_“Chirp-chirp-chirp-CHIRP-CHIRP-chirp-chirp-chirp!”_

Bo woke to the ultra-happy chirping of a scoundrel bird. It was bouncing next to her head; she could see it out of the corner of her eye. Its song was rhythmic and obnoxious and the small hangover that would normally be tolerable felt like a death sentence. Bo threw her metal coffee cup at the bird as she sat up angrily. But one look from Lauren kept her from fuming any longer. She smiled and tossed her hair from one shoulder to the other and Bo had to remind herself how to breathe momentarily. She stood, dusting herself off and soon was sitting beside Lauren as she checked breakfast. Their fingers laced in Lauren’s lap and Bo looked to the sky. It was cool and clear; a good day to travel. She smiled.

“You look like the cat that ate the canary today,” Lauren teased.

“We are close,” Bo said. “I can feel it in the pit of my stomach.”

“Well, if you can feel it in your stomach…”

“Better than any compass.” She smiled again. “What’s gotten into you anyway?” Lauren’s eyes shifted to Oren and Kenzi happily eating breakfast across the fire from them and Bo followed her gaze. “There’s two of them now,” she whispered.

Lauren made a face. “It’s a sore subject.”

“For who? You? Or Kenzi? Because Kenzi looks pretty happy to me.”

“It’s just, we don’t know anything about him,” Lauren justified.

“We were all strangers once.”

Lauren sighed and rolled her eyes. “I really need you to not go all swami Bo on me right now.”

“She’s smart, Lauren. I’m pretty sure she can handle that soldier. Or are you afraid you can’t make it without her?” Lauren looked away. “You can’t keep the war going in here.” Bo thumped on Lauren’s chest. “And not have it effect what’s going on up here.” She moved a stray lock of hair to the side. “It’s time to let it go.”  
__

They left shortly after breakfast and traveled through the afternoon. Bo watched the sun move across the sky, determined to return to her castle before it set. It was hard to believe it had only been a few weeks since their exile, so much had happened, so may emotions had played out, new faces had come into their fold and old enemies had fallen to their will. It certainly was a mixed bag.

The sun was sinking as the scenery was becoming familiar, that, or it was so repetitive she was able to predict what came next. But when they reached the crest of another familiar hill, Lauren saw it: the city gates. She had stopped letting herself be homesick many years ago and yet, somehow that was exactly what she felt. An ache, a contemplative silence, and that swell in her chest that could only be love. It was this mixture that was so familiar but so foreign to her. She had felt adrift for so long since her family… But now with Bo she had been reminded how safe she felt in her arms. As Dyson opened the gates, Lauren stole a glance at Bo, who wore a regal smile as her horse galloped into the city. The energy of the city was different now, a calm had blanketed the kingdom like a light layer of snow, silent and yet deafening. Still, they rode hard and fast until they were inside the Queen’s gates.

She was home. She knew these grounds like the curves of Bo’s body and she was craving both right then. Bo’s horse sprinted past as they headed for the stables and Lauren did her best to keep up. She was throwing her leg over the horse and jumping to the hay-covered ground. Lauren pulled on the reins and walked her horse into its stall. She hopped down and patted the mare. After sleeping in the open for the better part of a week Lauren would have been happy to curl up in the corner of the horse stall but tonight she would sleep in the bed she has come to call hers. Bo leaned into the stall. “You coming?”

Out front, Lauren found Vex and Evony dismounting. She took a moment to take it all in. Bo, off to the side, arms crossed, surveying the scene, shackled, collared and hooded prisoners stretching their legs as Dyson passed the horses’ reins to the stable hand and kicked Vex in the ass to get him walking toward the castle. Kenzi waved an arm at the Human soldiers to follow as she skipped along behind Dyson. Lauren turned back towards the stables and found Bo wearing a bemused smirk. The Queen took a few long strides to be by her side and Lauren was lost to her once again.   
__

How hot water pulsing against her head could feel as good as it did was beyond Lauren’s grasp at that moment. She washed the sand from her scalp and reflected on her time away from the comforts of home. The lather of soap softened her skin, now chapped from the wind. She let the water run for twenty minutes longer than necessary simply because she could. When she stepped into the bedroom she was drying her hair so she did not see Bo standing, frozen at the foot of the bed, the blueprints for her last experiment scrunched in her hand. Lauren’s face fell when she lowered the towel and saw the expression on Bo’s face.

“So this is it, huh?” She looked up at Lauren and then the papers in her hands. “This is how you wipe out an entire race?”

Lauren walked over to Bo’s side, her head full of answers, but unable to voice any of them. “I guess,” she started and then sighed. “You have no idea how much I want to say I didn’t know.”

“Were you even going to tell me?” Bo dropped the papers back onto the bed. “If this never happened, if Dyson never dragged us out to the Outlands.” The disillusioned expression on her face tore at Lauren’s heart. “Would you have told me?”

“Yes, of course.” It was out of her mouth before she could even think it.

“When?”

“When I could do this.” She opened the drawer in the nightstand, removing two syringes, she placed them in Bo’s hand.

“You made it? You went and made it?” It was well-controlled exasperation that was quickly getting out of hand.

“It’s the solution to our problem,” she explained. “Well… At least I think it is.”

“Care to narrow that down?”

“Vex and Evony,” Lauren said, twisting her hands. “I just… don’t know how that would make you feel.”

Bo looked at the syringes in her hand and shook her head. “Are you asking me for permission to take the Fae from two of the oldest in the counties?” Lauren took a step forward, suddenly feeling exposed in only a towel. “Why can‘t we just collar them for the rest of their lives?”

“Because they need to feed, Bo, or we‘re just starving them to death.” Lauren said in a rush, walking over to the foot of the bed.

“Lauren,” Bo walked over to the Resistance Leader, her arms crossed protectively over her chest. Bo unfolded her arms and took Lauren’s hands in her own. She shook her head at her. “In all the years I’ve been alive, I never would have dreamed that I would be in this position.”

Lauren looked at the floor, embarrassed by her inability to keep her cool. It was something she started losing control over somewhere around the time she met Bo. “I’m sorry, I overstepped.”

Bo closed her eyes and sighed. “No,” she said. “You have my blessing.”

“If we do this… it can’t be undone. I need to know you’re all in.”

Bo squeezed her hand. “I’m sure.”

Lauren took a step closer to Bo, wiping some dirt from her leather jacket with her thumb. “You trust me?” she asked, fingering the zipper.

“I do,” Bo said, gently lifting Lauren’s chin, a smile crossing her face. “Clever girl. You always keep me guessing.”

“What?”

“Oh, I could start with that thing?” Bo said. “With the knives. That was extraordinary.”

Lauren puffed up. “I may be a doctor but I am a competent soldier.”

Bo chuckled at her defense. “Take it easy,” she said, wrapping her arms around her waist. “Why knives?”

“I was comfortable with a scalpel so…” Lauren shrugged.

“You know, I’ve studied the impalement arts for many years and I’m not sure if I could’ve made that shot.”

Lauren smiled. “When you have the right motivation anything is possible, my Queen.”

Bo admired this human in her arms, vulnerable by nature, but so strong in mind. “I realize how foolish I was,” Bo told her, “trying to protect you in the Outlands when you were fully capable of protecting yourself.”

“No.” She shook her head. “That’s what people in love do. They protect and keep each other safe and take care of them when they need caring for.” Lauren kissed her gently. “Now let me take care of you for a change.”

The Queen acquiesced and let Lauren pull her to the middle of the room and began to undress her. She started at her top, pulling the dusty leather jacket from her shoulders and letting it drop to the floor. Her fingers lingered at Bo’s waist and pulled the dirt and sweat covered camisole over her head. Bo’s mouth quirked in a smile when Lauren held her breath. It was legend, getting lost in Bo’s beauty and realizing her gaffe, Lauren smiled and rolled her eyes, and Bo fell for her all over again.

Lauren pulled at the buttons on Bo’s jeans, the zipper falling easily. Dust clung to the skin beneath her clothes and as her bra and panties were hitting the floor, she was reaching for Lauren who waggled a finger at her. “Let’s not bring that place into bed with us.”

She led her into the bathroom, past the clawfoot tub and started a scorching shower. Bo stepped over the threshold and under the water, her face turning to the spray of water. Lauren dropped her towel and followed Bo behind the glass that already fogged under the shower’s intense heat. Bo hummed and pushed her fingers into her hair, rinsing the dust from its strands. Lauren watched Bo move, finding herself drawn in by even the most mundane of tasks. She took a step closer, her hands trailing along Bo’s hips to her waist, to her ribs. When she felt the soft breath under her fingers, Lauren smoothed over Bo’s shoulders and pulled her arms down to her sides. Lauren’s hands roamed Bo’s body then, the dirt falling away and pooling like sediment around the drain. She could feel the stress of their journey to the Outlands melt away under the steaming water, and Lauren was happy to help the process along. Lauren guided her head backwards into the stream of water and it ran ruddy from the sand once again. Her fingers scratched her scalp and she worked the shampoo into Bo’s hair gently, but firmly massaging as she went. Lauren lathered her long locks and Bo kept her eyes squeezed shut in pure delight, redefining bliss if only for that moment.

Lauren squeezed the suds from Bo’s hair, her hands smoothing them into her skin. Bo opened her eyes to follow Lauren’s hands along her body until she stepped closer. Her mouth closed on the back of Bo’s neck, her right hand covering her breast. Bo groaned, backing into Lauren’s body as her left hand continued lower, closer. Bo tried to turn in her arms, but Lauren pressed her against the tiled wall, Bo‘s hand flattened against the marble. The warmth of Bo’s back against her skin gave Lauren pause at the nape of Bo’s neck and she inhaled. The smell of soap and shampoo, the smooth slide of her fingers along Bo’s skin was spellbinding, tracing the gentle curves of her arm until she reached her flattened hand against the wall. Lauren kissed the back of Bo’s neck, the water pouring over her lips. 

Lauren dipped her fingers between Bo’s legs and grinned against her back, relishing the jump in her hips. Bo turned her head, her breath hot and quick, her knees weak. Lauren leaned into her then, kissing Bo under the deluge from above. Bo groaned into Lauren’s mouth as she continued to tease her, her fingers slowly slipping in and out as the water rolled over them in sheets, their skin red from the heat. Lauren pulled away from the Queen and reached for the tap, slowly withdrawing her fingers from between Bo’s legs. She groaned just as the water stopped, dripping into the drain.

Bo breathed deep, looking over her shoulder. “You,” she started, but Lauren shushed her with a finger. The crook in the Queen’s eyebrow told her she was pushing her limits, but the curl of her lips dared her to keep going. Lauren dried her reverently, catching every stray water droplet with the plush towel before wrapping her up and drying herself quickly. Pulling her along into the bedroom, Lauren tugged back the bed covers for Bo and took her towel back to the bathroom as the Queen slipped between the sheets, moaning her approval.

When Lauren returned, Bo’s eyes were awash in blue and she felt Bo’s need acutely in the pit of her stomach. Crawling beneath the covers, Lauren wasted little time climbing on top of the Queen. Her hips waggled as she settled between Bo’s legs and then, painstakingly, she began to move.

She was making love to a Succubus. It wasn’t as if the sex wasn’t always fantastic--because it was--but something was holding Bo back. There were occasions, however rare, that Bo would pour her heart out through her body and be there for Lauren. But most often, it was a frantic unpinning of everything Lauren knew of her body. Bo could touch her and bring bliss instantly. But not tonight. Tonight Lauren’s body moved against hers, keeping her captive, heart and all with a kiss, a nuzzle and the smooth slide of her hips.

Looking down upon the most powerful woman in all the lands to find her moaning her praises was intoxicating. It brought about urgency in her thrusts and need in her kisses. Lauren was falling under her spell again and in that moment she could find little fault with whatever logic was left. She pulled Bo’s leg up her side and held it there as she continued to thrust. Bo pulled her deeper, closer still, her hands drawing Lauren in for a fierce kiss. She was losing control. For all her desire to the contrary, Lauren’s lust was red-lining. Bo had stolen control once again. Her hips drew back before crashing into Bo with much verve. Over and over, she found that sweet spot that made Bo hers completely for moments at a time, revisiting it with perfect measure until she moaned for release.

It went quickly, a flurry of thrusts, her mouth on Bo’s neck and then she was being embraced, held so tightly that her breath came in irregular bursts. Bo’s breasts were heaving with effort and her nails dug into Lauren’s back as she found that spot that brought about her moans once again. She was so close but she had to hold back, wait for the Queen and Lauren realized that was her plan all along, to give up complete control and somehow maintain it. She kissed her way across Bo’s chest and covered her breast with her mouth. Her hips ground down against Bo’s and soon they were both calling the other’s names. 

As her hips slowed and their breath returned, Lauren draped herself over Bo, her head on Bo’s heart where it always was after they had made love. Because a heartbeat never lied to Lauren. And she could always hear her name beating in Bo’s chest as the very lifeblood that coursed through her veins.

Bo stroked her hair, leaning to kiss her forehead. “Welcome home,” she said softly.

“In all my life, I never thought I’d call the Dark Queen’s castle home but here I am.”

“Is it so terrible?” Bo teased.

“Mmm, no.” She smiled, leaning up to steal a kiss.

Bo touched her fingers to her lips when Lauren pulled away as if trying to keep her there. “Don’t ever leave me.” It wasn’t a plea, rather a statement and yet somehow it blew the hatches right off of her heart. Lauren could see the love written plainly on her face, shining in her eyes, and she didn’t doubt it or herself for a single moment. 

“Welcome home,” Lauren said, as she agreed to let Bo stay in her heart.  
__

“Thought I’d find you here.” Kenzi’s voice echoed through the empty bar where Dyson was helping himself to the libations. Two fingers of whiskey to be specific. She climbed onto the stool next to him.

He swirled the ice in his tumbler before taking a long drink. “What was your first clue?”

“You’ve had rye eye since we ran dry two days ago.” Kenzi reached over the bar and picked up a tumbler for herself.

“Rye eye, huh? Is that a medical term? You pick that up from Lauren?” He drained his glass and poured another.

Kenzi rolled her eyes. “Dude, I’m gonna say this once, so listen carefully.” She tipped the bottle and filled her glass again. “Move on! She’s not coming back to you--even if it doesn’t work out with Lauren. She is done. D-O-N-E, done.”

He lifted his head. “You think it won’t work out with Lauren?”

“That’s what you got from what I said? Good god, man. What did she do to you?” Kenzi sat beside him, pressing her palm against his bearded cheek. “Get it together.” She patted his face. “Don’t spend the rest of your life pining for her.”

A ruckus began down the hall from the pub, laughing and rumbling to a halt in front of Kenzi. The group of boisterous Human soldiers claimed a few tables in the back corner by the pool tables and started up a game. “I hope you don‘t mind.” Kenzi said, looking at him. “I invited the boys down for some drinks.”

“No,” he said, looking away when he saw Oren emerge from the group, not hiding his disappointment well. “Of course not.” He threw back another half-full tumbler of rye, dropping it on the bar and walking off.

“Hey you.” Kenzi smiled as Oren approached. She draped her arm over his shoulders and handed him a glass, emptying the bottle of whiskey into it. She picked up her glass and clinked it against his. “Welcome home,” she said.

The sudden roar from the back of the tavern was familiar. “Show some respect!” Dyson growled. Kenzi’s head whipped around, looking for the lone wolf amidst a company of Human soldiers. Then she saw it. Dyson lifting a fresh-faced corporal into the air by his throat. “This is the Queen’s home and you shouldn’t behave like degenerates if you want to stay here.” His feet kicked wildly until Dyson dropped him on his rear. 

Oren appeared at the fallen corporal’s side and helped him to his feet. “He’s right,” he said, much to the surprise of his company. “We are guests here, be grateful for the opportunity. The war is over and each of us must find our own way now. Don’t ruin this chance.”

Gareth kicked his feet up onto a table and Dyson growled and stalked off. “I know who’s in the running to be the Queen’s next diplomat.”

“Little boy blue,” another soldier teased.

“Gentlemen,” Oren reasoned. “We could still be in the Outlands, fighting for food and a place to sleep. There’s no sense in outstaying our welcome so soon.”

Dyson stood at the bar in perpetual motion, pouring, drinking, repeat. The disdain he felt for the Humans was plain to see on his face and Kenzi left Oren to settle his troops as she settled hers.

“What gives, wolfy?”

“They’re hooligans. I can’t work with lawless little Humans.”

She nudged him with her shoulder. “You worked with me, even might’ve started to like me, too.” Kenzi smiled softly, cutting through Dyson’s machismo. 

“When did you two get so close?” He gestured at Oren, who passed the men their own pitchers of beer as he continued to speak.

“The battlefield is long and storied.” She smiled. “All right, all right. We are simpatico.” She filled her glass again. “Lauren is always telling me how obsessed Bo is with destiny and I’m starting to understand.” 

Dyson scoffed. “You think this mutt is your destiny?” He nodded his head at Oren, who had begun drinking from his own pitcher. 

“Mutt?” Kenzi laughed. “You’re one to talk.”

“Well, is he?”

“Geez, what is this? The Grand Inquisition?” She sighed and took another drink. “I don’t know. Why not?”

“Do you love him?”

Kenzi began to pick through the garnishes on the bar, eating olives and cherries as she considered Dyson‘s question. “Too early to tell.”

“So not destiny at all, really,” he said. “I think maybe you just wanted to get me thinking about Lauren so I’d stop thinking about them.” He nodded at the motley crew of soldiers smiling and enjoying life for the first time in years.

“Mmmaybe.” She grinned. 

“I didn’t work,” he grumbled.

She covered his hand with hers. “Someday, I’ll figure you out, wolfy.” 

Dyson looked down at their hands together before pulling his away. “Good luck with that,” he said. “I’m going to catch some shut eye.”

“See you in the morning.” Kenzi waved as he disappeared out the door. She poured herself a fine scotch and sipped it carefully as she watched Oren work the room. He had an easy way about him. Friendly enough that he could charm just about anyone but also tough enough that most of his compatriots regarded him carefully. A wild card amongst a court of jokers.

He looked up and met Kenzi’s gaze from across the room. He finished the joke he was telling with uproarious results before excusing himself and joining Kenzi at the bar.

“The General…” He started.

Kenzi nodded. “He just hasn’t embraced the fun factor around here.”

Oren chuckled, amused by Kenzi and her way of looking at things. “He doesn’t seem to like Humans but he likes you…”

She waved a hand as she sipped from her glass. “He’s had months to get used to me and minutes to get used to you guys.”

“Is it true what they say about him and the Queen?”

Kenzi scrunched her forehead, wondering if the human rumors were the same as the Fae‘s. “I dunno, what do they say?”

“That the Queen cast him from her bed in favor of the Doctor,” he said under his breath.

Kenzi shook her head. “The Queen was done with him long before Lauren ever entered the picture.”

“But they were an item?”

“Once upon a time…”

“Fantastic!” Oren exclaimed, ducking his head when he attracted the attention of the others. He lowered his voice again. “I just mean, this place conjures fairy tales, don’t you think?”

Kenzi laughed. She had never thought of the castle in those terms, but there was a kernel of truth in Oren’s assumption. The Queen had found her mate in an epic love story that played out in front of her. She saw the change in them both as they found each other and she watched as her General collapsed under the weight of this new love. They survived a circus of pain and a small army of renegade Fae and now Kenzi had found some companionship of her own. Did fairy tales really exist? She couldn‘t lie anymore. She didn‘t want to. “It is a pretty magical place.”  
__


	7. Chapter 7

“The only enemy to fear is the enemy within, the demon that speaks in your own voice, the assassin in the mirror.”--Bob Lonsberry  
__  
“No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently.“--Agnes de Mille  
__  
She couldn’t sleep. Not even with the waves of heat rolling off Bo’s bare body. She was comfortable, almost too comfortable, and it set her on edge. Lauren slipped away from Bo and dressed in clean clothes--something she had wanted to do for weeks--and set out with only one destination in mind.

She rode the elevator from the penthouse to the bottom floor, each ding of the bell setting her nerves on edge even more. When her journey was done, the doors opened and the dim, grim lights of the dungeon brought her memories flooding back. She looked at the cages, once teeming with her Human brothers and sisters, now empty but still miserable. She remembered when Bo would come to see her here, the only beauty she’d see among the damp and dirty ugliness, and sometimes take her away from the hellish conditions she herself was responsible for. It was a lot to take in, to get over, to move on from. Bo had courted her when she was a prisoner, but Lauren had decided the circumstances were just as important as that word destiny that Bo so loved to bandy about.

There was something to be said for tactics and the tactics of war. Bo had put her in the Blue Room to break her but it only made her stronger. She was broken already, sure, but her eyes remained unclouded from the influence or the torture of the Blue Room and it was then that she saw Bo for what she was. A dangerous, beautiful angel. Whether that was an angel of doom or one of mercy, Lauren was never certain. That’s when it started. Definitively, that’s when Lauren’s heart began to pull the strings.

She heard them moving in the farthest reaches of the dungeon. They had heard her and were on high alert. Lauren took a flashlight from its charging station on the wall and switched it on. Her feet crunched on the concrete and gravel as she approached the cell and she shivered, her chest tightening at how surreal it felt to be on the other side of the bars. Pointing the flashlight into the cage, she lit up the disheveled Mesmer and a pissed off Leanan Sidhe who peered back at her.

“Well, if it isn’t it the Little Engine That Could in the flesh,” Vex said flamboyantly. “Come to set us free, did ya?”

She stared at Evony, ignoring Vex. “Why did you do it?”

“Honey, you’re going to have to be a lot more specific,” she sighed, approaching the bars. “I’ve done many things.”

Lauren swallowed at Evony‘s proximity. Her beauty may have been marred by dungeon life, but there was still a cunning glint in her eye and Lauren was thankful for the collar around her neck. “You killed my family. Why?”

“Why do you ask a question to which you already know the answer?”

“Because it’s easier than asking you about destiny.”

She laughed. “That Succubus is in your head now. Always prattling on about her destiny.” She dragged a finger across the bars. “If you think all of the circumstances have led you to this point, you would be right. But is that divine intervention or simply luck?”

“Watching my family be murdered does seem like a great stroke of luck,” she said sarcastically.

Evony smirked. “But that event made you who you are today.”

“No, I did that,” she said. “I put in the work and I made the connections.”

“Listen to this, Vex. Our little terrorist wants to take responsibility for everything.” Vex grunted and rolled over on his bunk. Evony rolled her eyes. “You‘d think the last Mesmer would be an asset but sadly, you would be wrong.” She sighed dramatically. “I’ve given you all the advice I can spare today. Are we good?”

“No, we are not good.” Lauren pushed away from the cell and started back up the corridor. “We are far from good,” she called over her shoulder, gritting her teeth. Answers or not, a reckoning was coming.  
__

When the elevator doors opened onto the penthouse, Bo was seated at the table, stirring what could only be coffee. The aroma enticed her to come closer and Bo poured another cup, holding the mug out to Lauren. “Where were you?” Bo asked as she took it from her hands.

Lauren sipped it gratefully. “I couldn’t sleep so I went to the dungeons to check on Vex and Evony.”

“Did you get the answers you were looking for?”

“What do you mean?”

Bo smiled over her cup of coffee. “Why do you hide your intentions?”

Lauren exhaled, looking at Bo sheepishly. “I don’t know. Force of habit, I guess.” She shrugged.

“You meant for Evony to make sense of things for you…” Lauren nodded, sipping the coffee again. “And how’d that go?” She said with a surreptitious smile.

Lauren considered Bo‘s question. “I’m guessing by your tone, you already know the answer to that.”

“I have an idea.” She nodded. “I tried many times to come to some conclusions with the help of Evony. Let’s just say her solutions were very unsatisfying.”

“I don’t even know why I care what she thinks.”

“Because she killed your family, you’re just searching for a reason why.”

Lauren set the mug down on the table and sighed. “I know why,” she said. “My father was the only scientist willing to work with Fae blood and in six short months he was breaking down Fae genetic code. He knew too much.”

Bo‘s lips tightened. “Then why do you care what she has to say?”

“She was the one that started the wheel in motion. My life changed forever when Vex killed my family.” She leaned on the table and closed her eyes. “But when I hear you tried to stop her when you found out, it made me wonder about your friend destiny and what this all means. A decision made in this castle, the one I now call home, changed my whole life and brought me back here kicking and screaming.”

“I regret that,” she said, looking at the floor.

Lauren reached out and lifted Bo’s face to look at her. “There is no place in our lives for regret anymore,” Lauren said, as if suddenly renewed. “I’m through regretting that my life wasn’t taken from me when my family lost theirs. I have things to live for now. Things to die for. And I’m through regretting.”

The smile that dawned on Bo’s face then was perhaps the most beautiful thing Lauren had ever seen. It started with a quivering bottom lip, her eyes sparkling, the color returning to her cheeks as a radiant smile commandeered her expression. With her words, Lauren had freed them both from the past and Bo found herself speechless. She leaned across the distance between them and kissed Lauren passionately. “I knew it was you,” Bo sighed rolling her forehead against Lauren’s.  
__

She had a spring in her step today, Dyson noted, watching her from the corner of his eye as she unwrapped a piece of gum and popped it into her mouth. They were making their normal morning rounds when Kenzi collided with a pair of soldiers turning the corner. “Shazbot!” she exclaimed, leaning on the wall to avoid falling over. As Dyson helped to right Kenzi, another set of hands took her arm. Kenzi’s head whipped around. “Oren!” she exclaimed when she saw the smile on his face.

“Hey,” he said helping her upright. “Sorry.” He shifted apologetically. “I guess I’m a little distracted.” Dyson growled low, almost imperceptive. The Human mutt strikes again. 

“Dyson,” Kenzi pushed him. “Lighten up, wolfy.” She turned to Oren. “So…? How’s it going?” Kenzi socked him in the arm and hopped once.

He grabbed his arm and smiled crookedly at her. “It’s good. We’re just about to patrol the grounds.” He looked at Dyson and then to Kenzi. “Want to go for a walk?”

Dyson cleared his throat. “The Queen has requested my counsel, I’ll meet up with you in a bit.” He turned, checking his watch and headed for the elevator.

“I guess I’m free.” Kenzi shrugged.

“You can go ahead to the mess hall and grab some lunch, Tyson. Kenzi and I can manage.” 

“See ya, Kenzi,” Tyson said as he wandered away.

Oren walked in close proximity to her, she noticed the encroachment on her personal space but when he didn’t loom over her, she relaxed. They took the elevator, each letting their eyes roam the car before meeting in the middle and sharing a shy smile. It was overwhelming and Kenzi was relieved when the car doors opened onto the main floor of the castle tower. She walked quickly and with purpose to the glass doors off the atrium, losing Oren in a crowd of citizens as she went. 

Outside, Kenzi took a deep breath. Courage came cheap some days, though not today, and she was abuzz with a myriad impulses. When Oren caught up with her, she leaned on the wall in front of the tower.

“Everything all right?” Oren asked.

“Yeah,” Kenzi said. “Just needed some air.” He put a hand on her back and swept it across her shoulder blades. She shivered and looked over her shoulder at his flushed cheeks.

He turned her to face him, hands on her shoulders. “For the first time in a long time I feel like everything is going to be all right.“ 

Citizens passed as Kenzi was locked into his gaze. “You shouldn’t be late doing patrol,” she said finally, ducking under his arm and heading for the stairs to the estate. He held up an arm as she retreated and then hopped along after her.

“You were right about this place, Kenzi.” She knew exactly what he meant. They were a living fairy tale. She had even called the kingdom magical when they last spoke and now he had bought into the idea. “Hey.” He squeezed her arm. “What’s going on with you today?”

“Nothing,” she reassured. “The Queen really hates tardiness.”

“So that’s what this is about? Making sure I keep my schedule?”

Kenzi shrugged. Oren’s expression was full of hurt and confusion and as much as Kenzi swore that today was not the day, it had revealed itself anyway and she would bare her soul to Oren. “Oren, I need to tell you something.”

“Anything,” he said somewhat desperately.

She sighed impatiently and held a hand up blocking his gaze. “I don’t think I can do this if you’re looking at me…”

He looked at his boots. “I won’t look at you.”

Kenzi looked at the top of his head, his dark hair, a fashionable length, each strand in place. “Oren, you’re just so…” She swallowed her heart. “I can’t…” She turned to leave. 

Oren reached out a hand and covered hers, still not letting himself look at her face. “Tell me.”

Kenzi looked to the sky and closed her eyes, the words in her head a jumble. “When we’re together you make me forget there was a war. I feel like a woman when I’m with you.” She exhaled.

“Can I look at you yet?” He asked, kicking at the grass beneath his boots. 

“Yeah.” She sighed. Oren lifted his head and ran a hand through his hair. He looked at her with a straight face. “Say something,” she implored, her heart pounding.

He stepped forward, lifting her by the waist into air and kissed her fiercely. 

He was a slight man, but he was strong and so was his kiss. She delighted in the feel of his hands on her waist, his breath on her cheek and his hair in her face. It had been so long. She had made a life of random hook-ups as she wandered the wasteland that once she had called home. She watched Lauren remain unfettered by companionship through their time together but Kenzi couldn’t stand the loneliness. This was something else altogether. She was starting to have feelings for Oren and it was unnerving. She felt like she was losing control so she tried to impose limits on herself, on Oren. Kenzi sighed as he set her down again. She snaked her arms around Oren’s neck and smiled. “That was unexpected.”

He began to sway with Kenzi. “Tyson told me women like to be kept on their toes.”

“Tyson, huh? Tell me, is he the Romeo of the company?”

A sly smile creased Oren’s cheeks. “Code of the brotherhood, afraid I can‘t say.”

Kenzi made a face. She didn‘t take kindly to the boys’ club. “Oh, that’s right. The Brotherhood, that conceals the acts of the young, dumb, and horny.” Oren laughed. “Here’s a thought. Maybe if the whole core ideal of your Brotherhood is that you lie for each other, maybe, just maybe it’s not such a great thing to be associated with.”

Oren’s smile faded. “Kenzi, I--”

“I have a better than average bullshit detector, so don’t even waste my time with the Brotherhood of bullshit.”

He shook his head. “The last time you hear about it, I promise.”

She checked her watch. “We’re behind schedule,” she said, breaking away from him and walking the perimeter. 

He jogged after her. “Kenzi, wait!” He called.

She stopped and turned around sharply. “We’re behind schedule. You’re just going to have to walk and talk.” She turned away again and charged ahead.

“Kenzi, stop!” Oren yelled. She slowed but kept her back to him. “Look, I really like you but I’m not sure what’s happening right now.”

She looked at the ground. “I knew a boy with a Brotherhood before,” she said, barely audible above the chirping birds in the surrounding trees.

“Whoever that was, it wasn’t me. Kenzi, give me a chance at least.” Oren put a hand on her shoulder and turned her toward him. “Please?”

Kenzi nodded her head. “But we really have to get moving. I wasn’t lying when I said the Queen hates tardiness.”

“Will you have a drink with me tonight?”

“Yes, anything to get you to take this post seriously. Let’s move!” Kenzi rushed ahead. Oren laughed, shaking his head as he followed close behind her.

“I’ve never had a lady agree to a date with me under those circumstances before.” He jogged beside her.

“That only means other women had more sense than me, which does not help your cause.” She smirked.

“Is this your way of cancelling?”

Kenzi looked at him with a sideways glance as she jogged, still trying to make up time. “No,” she said. “I won’t cancel.” They were jogging the perimeter for an hour when the rear entrance came into view.

Dyson stalked toward them. “You’re eight minutes late, soldier. I don’t care who your girlfriend is, you will not violate the schedule set forth by the Queen.”

He stood at attention. “Yes, General. It won‘t happen again.”

“See that it doesn’t or you will find yourself without a post to guard or a place to live.” Dyson nodded at Kenzi before turning and mingling with the heavy foot traffic in the castle.

When Dyson was out of sight Oren turned to her. “I thought you said the Queen was picky about the schedule.”

“Let this be your first lesson, my dear man,” Kenzi informed him. “Whatever sticks in the Queen’s craw is Dyson’s duty to eradicate.”

“Are they a thing, too?”

“Depends on who you ask,” Kenzi said with a hint of mirth in her voice.

“Is that another one of your riddles?” Oren asked.

“Not if you’re a student of human nature. Everything is plain to see.”

“Care to translate, oh, scholarly friend of mine?” 

“Gossip is unbecoming of a soldier,” Kenzi lectured with a wagging finger. 

“You didn’t mind telling me about the Queen and her Doctor,” he pressed.

“That was different. People talk and I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

“I noticed that you didn’t correct him when Dyson said you were my girlfriend.” He smiled impishly.

“That’s right, I didn’t.” She spun on her heel. “Pick me up at seven,” she called as she disappeared into the mass of people.  
__

The door to the bedroom opened silently as Lauren walked through, her eyes scanning the room, a reflex learned long ago. Bo was attending to business with Dyson, so Lauren took the opportunity to do a little housecleaning. She took a few steps into the bedroom and glanced at the bed. The two syringes earmarked for Vex and Evony still sat on the nightstand, but something more nefarious hid in the back of the closet.

Plan B. Or as Lauren called it: Retribution.

A briefcase, nothing more, nothing less, loaded with a glut of the same syringes that she was staring at on the nightstand. Her fury had created each and every one of the syringes with the hopes of taking back their God-given gifts. She had one for every Fae in the castle except Bo. Of course, that would of be little solace to the Queen if she caught Lauren with it. 

She carried the briefcase out of the closet and dropped it on the bed. When she opened its latches, Lauren’s heart raced. The array of glass syringes was a beauty that only their creator could behold. They sat snugly in their cradles, each label turned out, the number and name of each syringe and serum version number called out to her.

Lauren closed her eyes and snapped it shut, locking the latches. With a heavy sigh, Lauren picked the briefcase back up again and walked briskly to the elevator. She pushed the button at the bottom of the panel and rode the elevator into the belly of the beast. The doors opened to the basement, even further below the dungeons. Everything was gray, from the mortar between the bricks to the paint on the walls. She trudged through the long, narrow hallways to the boiler room and looked up and down the hall behind her before pushing through the heavy metal door. The heat from the incinerator was overwhelming, but Lauren gripped the handle on the briefcase, staring into the flames. She considered and then reconsidered what she was about to do over and over again in an endless loop of love versus revenge until she was incapable of thinking about it any longer. Lauren yanked the incinerator’s heavy latch open and tossed the briefcase into the fire. The heat scorched her cheeks and dried her eyes, but she stayed a long while, at this funeral for a friend, one that had kept her safe in her head for months but had now grown obsolete. She waited for the briefcase to melt and the glass syringes to explode before she walked away.

For Lauren, the war was finally over.


	8. Chapter 8

“In the name of noble purposes men have committed unspeakable acts of cruelty against one another.“--J. William Fulbright  
__  
“I hate admitting that my enemies have a point.”--Salman Rushdie  
__

The elevator doors opened onto a quiet Penthouse. Lauren listened for Bo as she stepped through the foyer and into the living room, but when it was clear she was on her own, Lauren stopped in front of the large widows and looked down on the castle grounds. She sighed, stuffing her hands in her pockets. The Faire had just begun that morning and the field across from the castle tower was filling with bodies. Food, drink, music, dancing, Lauren had heard about Fae Faires around a few campfires before. Their jubilance and their excess were notable. A Fae Faire was the place to be, apparently, and one in the Queen’s honor was sure to impress.

Lauren sighed again and chewed her lip. Bo had probably gone ahead without her and Lauren couldn’t blame her, really. It was a Faire in her honor and Dyson probably dragged her away rather than let her suffer the indignity of waiting for Lauren, which she would be okay with if she didn’t know in the pit of her stomach that Bo would want her at her side to declare the Faire open. And she wouldn’t be much of a political leader if she didn’t show up at the opening of a celebration dedicated to her co-counsel.

She grabbed her leather jacket off the arm of the couch and called the elevator once again. Slipping into the coat with a sigh, Lauren thought of Bo. And how easy the sacrifice she had just made had come because Bo had made herself so important to Lauren. When the elevator finally opened its doors to her, Lauren was anxious. She had been too far removed from Bo in the last two days and if she didn’t know any better, Lauren could swear she was suffering withdrawal. She smiled at herself as the elevator descended. In the Outlands, before Bo, she didn’t let herself feel lonely. It was a weakness she couldn’t afford at the level she was. She could see it affected the people she led, especially Kenzi, but Lauren had to remember the task at hand. The war they were fighting and the lives she was responsible for.

After Bo… it was like there wasn’t a moment of time she didn’t want to be at her side. And not only because she was in love, but because it felt like the place she needed to be. Finally, maybe, things were starting to make sense.

__

The courtyard was packed, bustling with all manner of patrons, Fae and Human. The turn out was amazing. The Queen’s Welcome Home Faire was already a success, a band played on a stage erected in the middle of the field and it was surrounded by people dancing. Lauren weaved her way through the crowd gathering around Bo until she emerged in the small clearing created by a few guards and her heart stopped. The Queen was every bit of magnificence the stories described her with. The dark waves of her hair, the strength in her arms, the curves of her body, they all took Lauren’s breath away. It didn‘t seem to matter how many times they saw each other in a day, every time Lauren laid eyes on Bo, it was like she’d never seen her before.

Bo wore a congenial smile as she spoke to the group, charming them but scanning the crowd every few moments until she found who she was looking for. Lauren swallowed when their eyes locked and didn’t waste any time crossing the several feet between them. She saw Bo smile and politely excused herself to meet Lauren in the middle.

“Where have you been?” Bo asked, not waiting for her answer and kissing her instead. Lauren stood, momentarily shocked before holding Bo’s arms in her hands. The Queen took a step closer, their bodies dangerously close. If kissing in the middle of the street in front the castle, surrounded by a hundred people whistling and hollering wasn’t a proclamation of love at all costs, Lauren couldn’t really think of any others. When Bo pulled away she was smiling and Lauren found it infectious. 

“What’s gotten into you?” Lauren asked, watching the guards start to turn and send people on their way, giving them some measure of privacy.

“I don’t know.” Bo shook her head. “I feel free. Free to be myself and free to reign in my own way. With another Queen by my side.”

Lauren’s smile froze in place as her brain worked out if what Bo just said was good or bad. “What?”

“I thought you would be pleased.” Bo touched her face anxiously and kissed her on the cheek.

Lauren blinked. “Of course. Of course I’m pleased,” she stuttered, taking Bo‘s hand from her face and holding it against her chest. “But how?”

“As Queen Consort, naturally.”

She moved in closer with a smirk. “Now that sounds promising.” 

“It is. And believe me, I’ve gone over all the possibilities.”

A low, honeyed laugh escaped Lauren. “You always did have a way with words, my Queen.” Lauren took a few steps, their hands clasped. She glanced at each of the guards, busy with clearing the area of onlookers and grinned. “Let’s get out of here.” She pulled on her arm and ran toward the stables with Bo in tow. 

It was mid afternoon and the sun streamed in from the open window as Lauren unbuttoned her jeans in an empty stall. The hay crunched beneath her boots as she pressed Bo against the wall. She inched down her body until she was kneeling in the soft pile, pulling the Queen’s pants down. She hooked a finger on her panties’ waistband and stripped them away, too, shoving the wadded up panties into her jacket pocket. 

Lauren looked up at her then, her hands cupping her ass as she guided Bo’s leg over her shoulder. The birds were singing in the trees, the din of the crowd in the streets still ever-present, and the Queen was rapt, watching Lauren kiss the inside of her thigh before delving deeper. Her hips jumped when Lauren made contact before she set in to a rhythm that left her gyrating against Lauren’s mouth. 

Straining, she squeezed her eyes shut and turned her face to the ceiling. Her hands were in Lauren’s hair now, tendrils slipping between her fingers as her head moved with a definitive goal. “Lauren,” she whispered desperately, hips moving in time with her mouth.

Stretching tall, her body slowly undulated, the back of her hand brushing Lauren’s cheek, urging her on. There were many positions her Queen could’ve enticed her with, but this posture, regal and unassuming, kept her attention more than any in recent memory. And when her face contorted as the children frolicked in the street, her silent scream was the epitome of beauty.

Lauren sat back on her heels, looking up at the Queen, admiring her. A strange place to be when only a year before they were sworn enemies. She went round and round about Bo’s destiny and whether or not it was her own. She had found kernels of it within Bo’s but she was shaping her own destiny now. By simply destroying the briefcase full of syringes, Lauren had written on Bo’s fate. She could’ve been the most powerful woman in the free world, had Lauren gone through with her plan, but instead she respected her station and the power already held by her. It was a protective measure, as well. She couldn’t let those syringes fall into the wrong hands and come to harm Bo. It was too dangerous. 

“Hey, where’d you go?” Bo asked as she pulled up her jeans and buckled her belt.

Lauren blinked and then smiled. “Nowhere,” she said.

“You gonna keep those?” Bo motioned to her panties, crumpled in Lauren’s jacket pocket.

“Maybe.” She smiled and pushed them further into her pocket as she got to her feet.

Bo grabbed Lauren’s waist and turned them around, pressing her against the wall. “Let’s go back to the castle.”

Lauren smirked. “But your Faire--”

“There will be plenty of time to see it tomorrow,” she said matter-of-factly. “Right now…” She licked her lips. “I have my eye on something sweeter…”  
__

Hours later, when Bo had brought about her lust to completion five times over, Lauren lay gasping for breath as Bo stroked her hair. She had run out of superlatives. Bo was amazing, relentless, a giving lover, surprisingly, and Lauren could never say no to her advances. As she kissed Lauren’s cheek, her forehead, the corner of her mouth, Lauren tried to find any fault in her current situation and she could not. This was as good as it got. A beautiful and powerful partner specializing in sexual fulfillment who loved her more than she probably deserved. 

“You shouldn’t doubt yourself so much.” Bo’s voice was low, comforting.

Lauren turned her head. “How do you do that?”

She chuckled. “Your aura doesn’t lie.” Lauren turned back to the ceiling, a hand resting across her body. “I know that you were hiding something from me but you seem to have come to peace about it.”

“Bo, I--”

She held up a hand and hushed Lauren. “It’s okay,” Bo said. “I trust you made the right decision for us both.”

“I did.” She nodded.

“Then why the doubt?”

“I’m still having a hard time finding where I fit in.” Lauren glanced at Bo with a smirk. “Besides here, of course.”

Bo kissed Lauren‘s shoulder. “You are the sun, the moon, the stars in my eyes. Never doubt yourself.”

Lauren knew the danger in defining herself with someone else’s terms, but there was something comforting about Bo taking her worries and banishing them so easily. She was beginning to understand partnership in its most basic pieces. Love was one thing, not completely separable from partnership and devotion was another. Without that piece, love could be broken and dispelled easily.

Lauren stared at the ornate medallion on the ceiling. “Do you want to be there when I do it?”

The hand that was caressing Lauren’s hip went still. “I haven’t decided.”

“Vex is the last of his kind, I just need to know I’m doing the right thing.”

“There you go doubting yourself again,” Bo chided. “Vengeance is yours.” She flattened her hand over Lauren’s navel. “Take it. Savor it.” She smiled. “Trust me, opportunities like these do not come often.”  
__

The elevator dinged and she stepped out into the familiar hell of the dungeons. She pulled the flashlight off the wall and headed down the long corridor. Lauren was wearing her lab coat, her fingers turning the syringes over and over again as she approached the cell. Inside, they were weak. It had been at least a week since they had last fed and signs of starvation were apparent on their faces. Lauren’s stomach turned. She was the monster now. Evony and Vex squinted at the flashlight’s beam and paced the cage. 

“Doc, I don’t feel so swell,” Vex groaned, ringing his knuckles on the bars as he walked.

“I know.” She swallowed. “I won’t let you starve.”

“Are you going to take the collars off?” Evony asked with an intensity Lauren was scarcely ready for.

Lauren sighed. “Not right now.” Evony rolled her eyes and turned away. “I’m afraid I need to give you a shot. It’s a supplement. For your compliance, a royal meal.” 

Kenzi wheeled a cart full of food from down the hallway and pushed it into the cell beside theirs. “Who’s hungry?” she sang.

Evony eyed the smorgasbord and the doctor again. “Where’s the General?” she asked suspiciously. “Shouldn’t he be here for this?”

“He was busy--” Lauren blurted.

“The Queen is attending tonight.” Bo’s voice came from the dark and the song of her boots followed.

Lauren’s sigh and smile of relief did not go unnoticed by Evony. “What’s with blondie?” She asked Vex under her breath.

“I think she was the royal meal for her Majesty.” He giggled.

She swatted at him. “You’re disgusting.”

“Who’s first?” Lauren asked, snapping on a pair of gloves.

“Anything to be closer to that royal meal,” Vex teased.

Kenzi pulled him out of the cage and shut the gate behind him. She sat him in a chair where Lauren prepared his arm with an alcohol swab as Kenzi shone the light on it. She lifted the syringe from her pocket and uncapped it.

“So what kind of cocktail have we got in there?” Vex asked curiously.

“Just a little something I cooked up in the lab.” Lauren inserted the needle into his vein and plunged it completely into his arm. “Now, enjoy the feast. You must be very hungry.” Lauren nodded at Kenzi who retrieved Evony as she changed gloves. Bo came closer, taking the light from Kenzi as Lauren prepared her injection site. “Stand back,” she whispered. Lauren wasn’t taking any chances. She moved quickly and the contents of the syringe were flushed into Evony’s vein.

She watched her movements carefully. “So are you going to tell us what kind of supplement you gave us?”

Lauren disposed of the garbage and pulled the gloves from her hands. “Just a little something that will supplement your humanity.”

“Shit,” Evony‘s face flushed. “The Fae serum is real?”

Lauren nodded. “I’m afraid so. On the upside, you can take your collars off now.” Lauren pulled the remote from the other pocket in her lab coat and deactivated them. She smiled at her. “So how does it feel being common? Being mortal?”

Evony breathed deep, as if preparing for battle. “I’ll admit, I didn’t think either one of you had it in you to do this, but now that it’s done, know that I will never stop trying to kill you both.”

“Then it’s good that you’re going to live out your pathetic existence in this birdcage.”

Vex shook his head, the dinner roll only making it halfway to his mouth. “You had it all this time…”

“Not all this time.” Lauren looked at Evony and smirked. “You did a fine job protecting it in that vault of yours.”

Evony growled in frustration. “This is ridiculous. You’ve stolen from us and taken our very identity, why should we be punished a minute longer?”

“Treason, for one thing…”

“What happened in the Outlands is not punishable by the Queen’s laws.”

“And sending assassins into my castle?” Bo asked.

Evony rolled her eyes. “Honey, you saw the Outlanders. Do you think they possess the smarts to orchestrate anything?” Lauren was about to rebuff her statement when she considered it carefully. Evony had a point, The Outlanders agreed to being collared for free booze and food, that didn’t say much for their discerning judgment. “Well?” Evony pushed.

“You killed my family,” Lauren said. It was all she think of to justify what she, herself had done. She was no avenging angel, but Lauren could no longer ignore the injustice she had suffered at Evony’s and Vex’s hands.

“Yes, Barbie M.D. and I was banished for my crime.” She looked at Bo. “You can’t punish us twice.”

Kenzi looked at Lauren. “What’s happening?” She whispered.

Lauren shook her head, snapping the briefcase that held her medical supplies shut. “We’ll look into it.” She nodded at Bo who joined her.

“You’ll look into it?” Evony asked indignantly.

“That’s what she said!” Kenzi exclaimed as she followed Lauren and the Queen down the corridor hurriedly. The echoes of Evony’s tirade spilled through behind them as they navigated to the elevator.

Lauren pushed the button several times. “Shit,” she sighed. The elevator doors opened and the women stepped into the car.

“Lauren, what happened back there?” Bo asked, confused.

“What happened?” Lauren looked at the numbers inside the elevator car and pulled at the edges of her lab coat. “What happened is we were duped. They didn’t send assassins…”

“So who did?” Kenzi asked.

“I don’t know but I’m going to find out.”  
__

It was four in the morning. The penthouse was dark and quiet save for the few lights that were left on in the living room. Lauren had been up all night concocting conspiracy theories for their exile and their would-be assassins. Nothing really made sense in her mind, railing against the most obvious conclusion. When Bo poked her head out of the bedroom to entice Lauren back to bed, she had barely rubbed the sleep from her eyes before Lauren presented her theory.

“I’ve been thinking about this all night and of all the possibilities, I keep coming back to one.”

Bo put her hand on her hip, amused. “And what’s that?”

“There never were any assassins. Dyson made it up to get us out of the castle.”

Bo’s hand fell from her hip. “What? Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know. To make himself useful?”

Bo sighed and ran a hand over her face. “I know you don’t see eye to eye with him most of the time but that’s not Dyson. He would never endanger me in that way.”

Lauren dropped the papers in her hand in disappointment. “You’re defending him? Really?”

“You don’t even have any proof, Lauren.”

“There were no assassins captured so tell me how he knows it’s safe to be here now?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they were scared off.”

Lauren sighed heavily. “All right. Fine. But you have to ask him. He won’t lie to you.”

“Sure.” Bo turned back to the bedroom and held out her hand. “Can we go back to bed now?”

“I’m going to sleep out here, if it suits you just the same.”

Bo sighed her hand dropping to her side. “Lauren.”

“I just need to be alone with my thoughts.” Lauren was being stubborn, and she was more than a little pissed off that Bo was defending Dyson, even now. So Bo turned without another word and shut herself in the bedroom. Lauren poured herself a nightcap and sipped the scotch from her corner of the couch. _Was she being unreasonable? Did Dyson deserve the benefit of the doubt?_ “Who gives a shit,” she said as she dropped the tumbler onto the coffee table and laid down on the couch. The last coherent thought she had as she pulled the blanket up to her chin was of Bo and how something always seemed to come between them.


	9. Chapter 9

“You speak of destiny as if it were fixed.”--Philip Pullman  
__

“A conquered foe should be watched.”--Edgar Watson Howe  
__

Lauren was gone when she woke up. A note and a pot of coffee sat on the kitchen counter, freshly brewed. 

_Bo,_

_Went for a ride. Be back later._

_L_

Bo sighed. She wished for more than a few hours of peace and quiet at a time, all the while knowing what she must do in Lauren’s absence. So she sent for Dyson.  
__

She had been sprinting around the field with Bo’s prized mare, her heartbeat matching the hooves rhythm pounding into the ground. She was sweaty and out of breath and then sun had just barely dipped above the horizon. She slowed by the stream just before the wooded area she had once stopped by with Bo. It was quiet and still. The small trickle of the stream was amplified ten times over and Lauren inhaled the crisp, morning air. She netted less than a few hours sleep but she was wide awake. Alive. And it was a new day.

If she tried really hard she could forget the fact that she had taken something sacred from her enemies and in the process had become the very thing she hated. She had doled out her revenge with a heavy helping of misinformation and now she was scrambling to make it right. For herself more than them, because she had destroyed something beautiful, even if the vessels were pure evil.

She patted the mare’s neck as she leaned down to drink from the stream. Lauren could have chosen any horse to take out that morning but she chose Bo’s because it reminded her of the Succubus: strong and bold, beautiful and quick. That and the simple fact that Bo loved the horse like no other, brushing and washing her mare gave Lauren pleasure.

It would be hours later, only when she was soaked through with dirt and sweat, that Lauren would tuck the beloved mare in and walk back toward the castle tower.  
__

“Have you eaten?”

Dyson stood just a few steps inside the penthouse when he shook his head. “You sent for me, my Queen.”

“Please, sit, eat,” Bo said, unfolding a napkin across her lap. She placed a croissant on her plate, pulling it apart in layers as she ate it. “I know we’ve had our share of disagreements during the past month but going forward, I need to ask you to be honest with me.”

“Of course, my Queen.” He sat with his hands folded in his lap.

Bo sipped the coffee in front of her. “What has become of this threat on our lives?”

“They have been neutralized,” he said confidently.

“And who was responsible and what has become of them?” she asked, tearing another piece off the croissant.

“It’s not important, my Queen. Trust me when I say they have been dealt with.”

Bo chewed carefully, watching Dyson with a slight smirk. “I’m afraid I can’t.”

He smiled and looked toward the living room. “Where’s Lauren?”

“Dyson…” She warned, sipping her coffee again.

“She put you up to this, didn’t she?”

“Let me put it another way,” Bo sighed, putting the cup down. “I’m the Queen and I want answers.”

Dyson stared at her. “I’m afraid I have none,” he said stubbornly.

Bo sighed and pulled the napkin from her lap to the table next to her plate. “There never was a threat, was there?”

“There has always been a threat, my Queen. You’ve just been too blinded by her to see it.”

“Dyson,” she said, her voice full of disappointment. 

Dyson looked to the ceiling in exasperation. “Even now, you don’t believe me. But I saw it with my own eyes and I had to get you to safety.”

“I would hardly call the Outlands, safety.”

“She keeps a briefcase full of her famous serum in the back of your closet,” Dyson blurted.

Bo paused, and looked at the partially eaten pastry on the plate in front of her. “What were you doing in our closet?” she asked, her patience waning.

“Checking for threats.”

Bo laughed. “In our closet?” she joked. “Lauren isn’t the threat, Dyson.”

“She is, I’ll show you.” He stood and gestured toward the bedroom. Bo raised an eyebrow and sighed again, getting to her feet. She let Dyson lead her to the large closet in the back corner of the bedroom and watched while he pushed a pile of luggage out of the way, digging behind a mass of dresses. 

Bo crossed her arms from the doorway. “I think I’ve seen enough.”

“It was here,” Dyson said emphatically. “I swear it.”

“Dyson, this has to stop,” Bo reasoned as she turned and walked back to the table. “You can’t be rifling through our underwear drawer when the mood suits you because you think Lauren is a terrorist.”

“But she is.” He followed her back out to the dining room. “If you choose not to see, I cannot keep you safe--”

“Enough!” She snapped. Dyson stopped short of the dining room table and watched her sit silently, spreading the napkin across her lap again. When she spoke again, her voice was controlled and even. “I will not listen to this nonsense a moment longer. I’m posting you by the city gates. Verns will take your post at the castle until further notice.”

Dyson took a deep breath. “If I were to take that post I would need to move away from the castle.” Bo looked up at him without a word. “Oh,” he nodded. “You finally picked her over me.”

“We both know that decision was made long ago.”

Dyson clenched his jaw. “I suppose so.” He walked to the elevator and pressed the button.

“Good luck, Dyson,” she said as the elevator doors opened and he disappeared into the car. Bo slumped back in her chair and covered her eyes. It needed to be done. She had to cut ties with Dyson and with her last cruel move she had accomplished this. Through the years he had been a friend, a lover, a companion until he faded into the protector role. He was always by her side and now that she had made her choice, his protection was gone. But Dyson had been ridiculous since Lauren entered the picture and this last stunt of taking them to the Outlands was the final straw. It was careless, it was reckless and it sealed his fate.

The elevator dinged minutes later and the doors opened again. Bo looked up from her breakfast with disdain as Lauren breezed in, the scent of the stables following her. “How’d it go with Dyson?“ She kissed Bo on the cheek and stole a grape from her fruit salad. “Juno is in good spirits today,” Lauren said sniffing her shirt. “I’m gonna change.”

“Where’d you put it?”

Lauren froze in place. “What?”

“The briefcase.” Her voice was even, calm, and yet terrifying. Bo could see the emotions written so plainly on Lauren’s face. Her aura vacillated between regret, sadness, and fear to some extent. 

“It’s gone,” she said. “I got rid of it.”

“How?” Bo pressed.

“The incinerator.” Lauren stood rail straight as Bo quizzed her.

“And you’re sure it could not have fallen into the wrong hands?”

She nodded. “I watched it burn. Bo, I--”

She held up a hand. “I know. I’ve known for months.” Bo sighed and looked at her plate again. “I was waiting for you to come around and it appears that you have.”

Lauren nodded. “It was never meant for you.”

“You would leave me as the only Fae to govern Humans?” Bo scoffed. “Your trust knows no bounds.”

Lauren walked into the bedroom, only to return a moment later with the blueprints for the serum. She dropped them on the table beside Bo. “I trust you. Completely.” Bo smiled. A soft, relenting smile. She couldn’t hide her love when she smiled. “But,” Lauren started before Bo could say anything more. “If you’re going to destroy it, could you save me the notes in the margins on page twenty-eight?”

Bo flipped to page twenty-eight. It was a grocery list in Lauren’s father’s handwriting. She smiled again. “Sentimental fool.”

Lauren grinned at the floor. “I’m gonna go get cleaned up.” She pointed to the bedroom.

“Lauren…” Bo’s fingers wrapped around her wrist and tugged her back. “I trust you, too.”  
__

Lauren had lost a lot of things in life and living alone had made her hard. It was being with Bo, loving her, that had torn down her walls. And in the rubble, she had been reborn. But had she gone soft in the process? Was this the byproduct of loving someone so openly? Or was it the reward? A new way to see the world, unavailable before but open to her now. 

Whatever it was, Lauren was guided by it when she moved Evony and Vex from the darkest reaches of the dungeon to the “garden-view” cells. That is to say, there were three-inch windows pressed against the ceiling where you could see the grass and dandelions blowing in a wind they could not feel. She upgraded their mattresses and made a reading library available to them. It was as much luxury that she could spare for the vile creatures that once called themselves Fae. 

“Ooo! Look! Why, it’s Mary Poppins!” Vex flung the book in the air and ripped it in two. “Books aren’t going to fix what you’ve done to us!”

“Vex, sweetie…” Evony spun around to look at Lauren. “I think what Vex is trying to say is: give us back our powers, bitch.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Lauren said.

“Bullshit,” Evony spat. “No scientist worth their salt would create a weapon without an antidote.”

“I don’t know about salt, but there is no antidote.”

Evony rolled her eyes. “I always knew you were a shill. Blonde bombshell doctor, rarer than the unicorn at the last unicorn supper.”

Lauren cracked a smile. It was always amusing when someone who was used to leading armies didn’t anymore; how pedantic and loathsome their insults ranged. “You asked me something before…” Lauren had made compromise with herself. She would commit to not keeping a pair of despicable beings in the dark like rats with only a flashlight carrying watchman to break up the interminable night. She would create a new standard of care for their long-term prisoners. And by doing so she would assuage herself of the guilt she felt over keeping people like pets, and bad pets at that. “I think we’re good now.”

Evony banged on the bars with a book. “What do you think she’s going to do with you when she grows tired of you? If she doesn’t suck your bones dry, I’ll wager you’ll be quite neighborly indeed.”

She wanted to argue, to engage her baser emotions and let anger rise up at the assumption that everything she has ever failed at was doomed to repeat. Lauren pushed the elevator button and then turned back to face Evony. “I’m glad we had this talk,” she said puffing up as she walked into the car.

If she thought about it hard, with conviction, she could find tiny holes in her supposedly impervious relationship with Bo. Truth was, there were holes in everything and pretending like there weren’t was what kept her sane. She may live in a castle in the sky with a deadly beauty and a stable full of the finest horses, but Lauren didn’t take it for granted, holes and all, because it was hers.

Up until now, she had so little to call her own besides her education and experience both of which kept her safe for many years. Books before brawn, she always told Kenzi, she preached it and she practiced it. Now there was this omnipresent idea of destiny permeating her life when they both had betrayed each other in so many ways. Lauren still didn’t know why she continued her compulsion to make syringes of serum even after she was settled into a comfortable life with Bo. It was a remnant of her past, a feeling she couldn’t shake that Evony hit right on the head. When would she stop being enough for the Dark Queen? She had wanted to show her she could elevate even her to a higher plane with science. But when they had returned from the Outlands, Lauren had seen her folly. She had seen the danger just having them near Bo could represent. More than that, Bo was enough. They were enough together. She didn’t need to wipe out the competition to prove that.

The elevator door opened and Bo was holding her sides, watching as the sun set on the second day of the Faire. She looked over her shoulder.

“Where have you been?” Bo asked, turning to face her.

“Long story.” She waved a hand. “Vex and Evony will sleep better than they deserve tonight, but at least my conscience might, too.”

Bo smirked. “I’m glad you’re back.”

Lauren snaked her arm around Bo’s waist and laid her head on her shoulder. “I’m beat,” she said, looking out the windows.

“It’s been quite a day,” Bo said solemnly. They stood in silence together, taking in the dancing lights below. It was rare enough they had a moment like this together, but even rarer since they’d returned from the Outlands.

“You never told me what happened with Dyson,” Lauren said.

Bo sighed. “He’s gone.”

Momentarily stricken with horror, Lauren imagined Bo draining Dyson’s body. “You banished him?” she asked almost hopefully.

She shook her head. “I posted him in the city.”

Lauren never thought she could feel so relieved that an adversary was still alive. “I see.”

She inhaled then. A long breath, wavering only slightly. “I let him leave here thinking that I didn’t believe him when the things that he said were true. I sent him away. For you.” The rest of her breath was exhaled in a rush.

Lauren blinked at the fireworks display starting from the far side of the grounds, her heart beating against her chest. “I don’t know what to say.”

There was a long silence before Bo answered. “Tell me I did the right thing.”

She closed her eyes and tried to remain optimistic. “Maybe some time away from the castle is just what he needs.”

Bo stood still, barely breathing. “It was time,” she said, nodding her head. She squeezed Lauren’s shoulders. “This is our time now.”

A soft smile spread across Lauren’s face. “I’m looking forward to a little peace and quiet,” she whispered, leaning into Bo.

“I can make that happen,” the Queen said with a quirk of her mouth.

Multi-colored sparks peppered the heavens in the final dramatic display of the evening. The sound was deafening and the stars seemed to twinkle a little more insistently even if Lauren was the only one to notice. The sparkle in the night sky was no match for the shimmer in Bo’s eyes.

“You know when you’re young and human people always tell you how your life is going to be. Graduate, get a job, get married, have kids. Their envisioning of my future looks nothing like my life now and I just think to myself: how did I ever let those people tell me how my life was going to be?”

Bo chuckled. “The same reason why I endured Vex and Evony as my advisors for so long. Because we didn’t know any better.”

“But I did. I do.” Lauren turned and looked up at Bo. “I have always known something great awaited me. I just always thought it was science. And then I met you…”  
__

Oren whistled a familiar tune as he patrolled the castle tower. He was working his way through the main floor before heading downstairs to make a welfare check on the prisoners. As he worked his way through the crowds, Oren reflected on how much his life had changed in such a short time. Trusted as one of the Queen’s guards, dating Kenzi, retiring from war. For the first time in his life he could finally say that he had his whole life ahead of him. He admired fireworks display momentarily before calling the elevator.

As the car slowly descended into the pit where the dungeon sat, Oren thought about Kenzi and their date the night before. How she smiled at him, batted her eyelashes over her drink and charmed him a little more with each tale she weaved. She was funny and soft, despite her hard exterior and Oren found himself looking forward to their chance meetings in the castle. The war had taken his brother from him but it had also led him to Kenzi. And for the first time in his life, he believed in a future. He believed in love.

And that’s when the elevator doors opened onto a mess unlike any other he’d ever seen before. Oren drew his weapon. There was blood everywhere. Two guards lay motionless on the floor, the prisoner’s cell doors were wide open with no sign of Vex or Evony. He holstered his weapon and lifted his radio to his lips. “Kenzi,” he said urgently. “We have a problem.”  
__

Fin.

Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion coming soon in The Siege.  
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End file.
